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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



METHOD IN HISTORY 



METHOD IN HISTORY 



TEACHERS AND STUDENTS 



BY 

WILLIAM H. l^ACE 

Professor of History in Syracuse University, 

Author of "School History of the United Slates," "A Working 

Manual of American History," "A Primary History,". 

"Lincoln: The Man of the People". 




RAND McNALLY & COMPANY 
CHICAGO 1914 NEW YORK 



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*. 



Copyright, 1897,^ ^ 
By WILLIAM H. MACE 

Copyright, 1914, 
By WILLIAM H. MACE 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



The Law in the Mind and the Thought 
in the Thing determine the Method" 

— Wm. A. Jones 



Chicago 



APR 16 1915 
©GI.A398350 



THE CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The Prefatory Note I 

The Preface . 2 

The Introduction 3 

The General Nature of History and the Processes Involved 

in the Organization of Historical Material 9 

Essential Elements of History 9 

Processes Involved in Organizing History . . .25 

The Process of Interpretation 27 

Nature and Kinds 27 

Forms of Thought and Sentiment as Discovered 

in Interpretation 32 

Material Presented for Interpretation ... 46 
The Educational Value of Interpretation ... 50 

The Process of Coordination 65 

Nature of the Process 65 

Educational Value of Coordination .... 72 
Organization of the Phases of American History . . . .75 
Period of the Growth of Local Institutions . . 75 
The Relation of Discoveries and Explorations to 

This Period 75 

The Period as a Whole 78 

The Diffusion of Rights and Privileges 81 

Centralization of Rights and Opportunities ... 86 

The Middle Colonies . . 93 

Period of the Growth of Union 96 

The Period as a Whole 96 

Union against England . . 101 

Union of the States by Means of the General Govern- 
ment 113 

Period of the Development of Nationality . . .128 

The Period as a Whole 128 

Relations between Nationality and Democracy . .131 

A Period of Conflict 131 

Mutual Approach of Nationality and Democracy . .146 
The Fusion of Nationality and Democracy Working 
Out Its Results . . • .v'f.l' . . . . . .162 

V 



vi The Contents 

PAGE 

Nationality and Slavery 173 

Development of the Conflict .173 

The Growth of Sectionalization 180 

The Destruction of Slavery and the Triumph of the 

Nation. ... * 197 

The Period of Consolidation and Expansion . . 209 

The Elementary Phases of History Teaching 213 

The Sense Phase of History .213 

The General Problem 213 

How the Problem Changes 213 

Nature of Observation Work in History . . . .214 
The Picture-Making Phase of History .... 224 

The General Problem 224 

The Material for Picture Making 228 

Patriotic Anniversaries 228 

Myth, Legend, Folklore 231 

The Transitional Story 232 

The Indian Story 235 

The Real Hero 237 

Ethical Value of Hero Story 241 

The Teacher as a Story Teller . 244 

The Oral and the Written Story 246 

European- American History — Sixth Grade . . . 249 

The Seventh and Eighth Grades 253 

The Objects otthe Story of the Event . . .254 
The Material for the Story of the Event . . . 256 
Story of the Event, or Word-Pictures taken from 

Mace's School History 261 

History in the High School 279 

Improving the History Course 279 

Report of the Committee of Seven . . . . . .279 

Report of the Committee of Five . . . . . .280 

Report of the Committee on Social Studies . . .281 
What the Final Report Will Probably Be . . . .283 

Practical Suggestions 285 

The First Year 285 

The Second Year's Work 288 

The Third Year 289 

The Fourth Year 291 



A PREFATORY NOTE 

This book was not made to order, but grew out of an 
effort, extending over several years, to justify the study of 
the Pedagogy of History in a University Normal School. 
Out of almost daily conferences over the problems of 
general and special method arose the germs of that 
masterful work, The Philosophy of Teaching, by Prof. 
Arnold Tompkins, University of Illinois, and of the present 
volume, "Method in- History.' ' It is particularly grati- 
fying to me that this work, in passing through the press, 
has again had the benefit of Professor Tompkins' deep 
insight into the problem of teaching. The general prin- 
ciples of the book have had also the great benefit of being 
reviewed by Superintendent Lewis H. Jones, Cleveland, 
Ohio, and by President E. Benjamin Andrews, Brown 
University. 

I am deeply indebted to Prof. Cyrus W. Hodgin, Earl- 
ham College, not only for friendly encouragement while 
developing the work, but particularly for generous and 
valuable service in the criticism of both its form and 
content. I desire, also, to express my obligation to Prof. 
Moses Coit Tyler, Cornell University, for the exceptional 
privilege of working out a portion of the book in his His- 
torical Seminar, and for his scholarly and sympathetic 
criticisms. Finally, the work has profited by the careful 
proof-reading of Mr. Herbert P. Gallinger, Fellow in 
History, Amherst College. 

W. H. M. 

Syracuse University, 

March 10, 1896. 



THE PREFACE 

"Method in History " has been favorably received by 
teachers in all grades of school work. Scores of them have 
declared that it gave their history teaching a deeper mean- 
ing and a fresh impulse. 

In this present edition, the volume has been thoroughly 
revised and in several parts entirely rewritten in order to 
embody the progress made in history teaching. 

The first part of the work, the "General Nature of His- 
tory," or the logical view of History, has been modified 
slightly in order consciously to bring out the idea that 
problems in history are solved when they are purposely 
made to explain the present. 

The elementary part, the psychological view, has been 
rewritten and several phases have been added. Among 
these are the relation of geography and literature to 
history in their beginnings, the outline of patriotic days, 
illustrations of how elementary history stories may be 
classified, the recommendation of the American His- 
torical Association as to European History in the Sixth 
Grade, the discussion of "The Oral and Written Story," 
illustrations of "Stories of Events" drawn from Mace's 
School History, and "Improving the High School Course 
in History," including the reports of the "Committee 
of Seven," the " Committee of Five," and the " Committee 
on Social Studies." The report of the Committee on 
Social Studies includes suggestions as to modernizing 
history with the intent to make it more practical and 
hence more interesting. Finally, a brief statement of 
"Practical Suggestions" in regard to the High School 
History Course has been added. 

William H. Mace. 

Syracuse University, 
August i, iqi 4. 



THE INTRODUCTION 

I well know the danger that argues against wrenching 
a subject to make it support a preconceived theory. 
Efforts have been made to avoid this, and thus escape 
error and reach the truth. However, certain general 
principles of education have been present from the begin- 
ning, and have been either confirmed or modified by the 
investigation. It is now proposed to indicate the nature 
of the problem attacked and explain the method of its 
solution. 

To state the matter negatively, the aim has not been 
to discuss devices and external manipulations in teaching 
history; the term "method" is not even intended to 
suggest diagrams, chronological charts, or expedients of 
like nature. But something far more fundamental has 
been the aim : the determining factors in method and not 
the determined — the principal and not the accidental 
■ — ones have been sought for and put to work at the 
problem. Whether diagrams, outlines, maps, and so on 
are to be used in teaching history cannot be decided by the 
whim of the teacher or by some current fashion in teach- 
ing the subject, but is to be decided, like other questions 
about devices and expedients, by an appeal to principles. 

It has been held in mind that education is an organic 
process carried on by the cooperation of two forces : mind, 
with its powers, processes, and products; and subject, with 
its real or possible system of principles and facts. No 
necessity exists here for the discussion of the unsettled 
problem concerning the identity or non-identity of mind 



4 The Introduction 

and subject ; it is sufficient to know that in the educative 
process, conscious or unconscious, there is such a corre- 
spondence and cooperation between the two factors that 
changes are wrought in one of the factors, — mind; and we 
often speak of the subject as being changed from crude 
facts into some sort of system. In any event, the mind 
of the learner becomes educated — its possibilities made 
realities — by possessing the thought of the subject. 

In the process of learning the mind is conscious of the 
thing it thinks and not of its own subjective processes. 
In the process of teaching the learning mind is led and 
directed in its efforts to come into contact with the content 
of things. The teaching act involves another act of cor- 
respondence and cooperation; the mind of the teacher and 
the mind of the learner cooperate in this act; the learner, 
as before stated, being conscious only of his subject, while 
the teacher is conscious of the learner's thinking of the 
subject. The teacher either is or is not directing a mental 
process. If he is, then his conscious attention must rest 
upon that process. The subject presents the common 
ground where the teaching mind and the learning mind 
meet. The subject itself is the product of a series of 
mental processes; it is a sort of mental formula which 
expresses the experience of the minds that have wrought 
it out. In order, therefore, to direct the student mind in 
its creation of the subject, the teacher must first have 
analyzed it into its mental processes and products. 

The above are fundamental facts of method in teaching. 1 

They are some of the determining principles upon which 

the so-called "methods " of teaching rest. To these must 

appeal be made in deciding what devices shall be used, 

questions asked, or directions given. How can a teacher 

!The teaching process is fully elaborated and illustrated in 
Tompkins' Philosophy of Teaching. 



The Introduction 5 

know, for a certainty, what general devices are usable in 
any subject, without knowing the general forms of activity 
the subject calls forth? How can a teacher prepare for 
the work of each day who cannot forecast the thinking 
and feeling to be aroused? 

The above factors are valuable as correctives of experi- 
ence; they are above experience, for they inhere in the 
nature of the teaching act. Experience makes mistakes, 
and therefore is not the only guide, but must itself be 
guided. Following the experience of others may be mere 
imitation and make one the slave of forms, while teaching 
under the guidance of principles gives inspiration and 
confers freedom. 

The analysis of a subject into its mental process not 
only forms the basis for any rational discussion of the 
devices to be used in stimulating the learning mind, but 
such an analysis also forms the true basis for a discussion 
of the subject's educational value. The platitudes on 
educational values might well be exchanged for a critical 
analysis of the processes stimulated and the products 
created in the learning mind. Such an analysis is best 
made by observing the mind in the actual and concrete 
process of working its way through the subject, and the 
most competent person to make this observation is the 
competent teacher whose function is to direct this process. 
The well-equipped public school teacher ought to be better 
able to make a helpful discussion of educational values in 
special fields than the superintendent, for he tests general 
products and results, while she ought to consciously direct 
processes in particular subjects. The specialist in a Nor- 
mal School or University ought, also, to be better authority 
on the problem of method in his field than even the Pro- 
fessor of Methods or the Chair of Pedagogy. If specialists 
were to turn their attention to the problem of method and 



6 The Introduction 

educational values in this higher sense, we should ulti- 
mately bridge the chasm between our theory and practice; 
our theory would vitalize our teaching and in return our 
teaching would exemplify the principles of our theory. 
This chasm is partly due to the fact that our educational 
doctrines are obtained from a general study of mind alone, 
while they ought to be obtained from reducing this general 
view to a concrete form, or, perhaps better, the general 
view of mind ought to be approached through the medium 
of the subject which is mind in its concrete form. In 
making his preparation for teaching, the student has before 
him two subjects, apparently very different in every way; 
he sees little kinship between psychology and grammar. 
He usually feels that psychology is a professional subject 
— a subject which somehow prepares him to teach, while 
the special subject is non-professional. Normal Schools 
generally set aside a portion of their work and dignify it 
by the term "professional," while other work is cheapened 
by being called academic. In a Normal School the study 
of language, history, or mathematics ought to be, and can 
be, made as strictly professional as the study of psychol- 
ogy. In truth the latter, as generally taught, is just as 
non-professional as Latin or algebra; the only way to 
render any subject professional is to study its bearing on 
the process of learning and teaching. The essential nature 
of geography is just as important a factor in determining 
the method of learning and teaching geography as is 
psychology. 

The result of this one-sided view — or at best this dual 
view of professional preparation — is that we have a litera- 
ture of education that speaks of applied psychology, as 
if it were a subject to be learned and then in some way 
forced upon the subject, — the subject made to fit a scheme 
that has been prepared beforehand without particularly 



The Introduction f 

consulting the subject to be professionalized. The result 
is that teachers "professionally trained" still continue 
unable to bridge the chasm between theory and practice. 

This imperfect conception of the nature and relations of 
the factors which must cooperate to determine rational 
methods of instruction is not confined to the graduates 
of Normal Schools. In fact, this class of teachers promise 
to do much toward remedying this evil. It is the prevail- 
ing custom among teachers in secondary and primary 
schools to look upon the subject they teach as contrib- 
uting very little to the method of its teaching. The 
result is to lower the subject — and, worst of all, the work 
of teaching — in the estimation of the teacher. The sub- 
ject stands as so much simple and easy matter upon which 
no special preparation for the recitation is needed. The 
work ceases to be interesting and sinks into mere drudgery. 
College graduates, as a rule, take the same low view of 
work in these schools. They feel that the branches taught 
even in the best secondary schools present no problem 
worthy of their metal! There is a problem here worthy 
of their best endeavors and one that challenges, in point 
of difficulty, their strongest and keenest powers. They 
generally do not know where to look for it; it is a peda- 
gogical, and not an academical, problem. This work is 
written with the confident hope that such a problem will 
be perceived in the domain of history teaching in the 
primary and secondary schools. 

The ideas briefly stated in the preceding pages have 
given general direction to this work. The plan has been 
to look into history and discover there the processes and 
products that the mind must work out in organizing 
its facts into a system. Accordingly, the first step analyzes 
a number of historical facts to discover some of the essen- 
tial concepts in history, and at the same time allows the 



8 The Introduction 

facts discovered to indicate something about the general 
way in which the mind must move in the subject. This is 
followed by a more detailed inquiry into the general proc- 
esses involved in organizing the material of history into 
the form of a system. In other words, the general proc- 
esses of interpretation and coordination and subordination 
are inquired into and illustrated. Under the head of the 
educational value of interpretation and coordination and 
subordination the specific intellectual processes and prod- 
ucts are indicated and illustrated, and also the emotional 
and ethical stimulus imparted is pointed out. Next 
follows an attempt to make more definite the general 
principles of historical organization, and to show more 
fully their educational value by looking into the various 
periods and sub-periods of American history. The pur- 
pose here is not to organize the periods in detail, but rather 
to demonstrate the possibility of doing so. With the ideal 
of historical organization in mind, as these steps aim to 
create it, the next part of the discussion deals with those 
preliminary steps that the immature mind of the primary 
and grammar grades must take in order to prepare the 
way for the realization of the ideal set forth above. His- 
tory in its organized or scientific form is an ideal toward 
which all work in the subject ought to be directed. The 
teacher in the primary and secondary schools ought to be 
under the influence of this view of history, and should be 
consciously influenced by the fact that his work is one 
step toward this goal. 



METHOD IN HISTORY 



THE GENERAL NATURE OF HISTORY 

AND THE PROCESSES INVOLVED IN THE 

ORGANIZATION OP HISTORICAL 

MATERIAL 

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF HISTORY 

The General Character of the Problem. Two factors 
unite to produce historical knowledge, — the transform- 
ing agent, mind, and the material to be transformed, 
the facts of history. The explanation of how historical 
facts become mind, and how mind becomes history, is 
the explanation of the process of learning history. The 
relation between these factors is an organic one. 
Hence, they can be most profitably discussed together. 
In fact it is mere speculation about historical science to 
discuss them out of this living relation, and leaves the 
ordinary teacher possessed of a body of theory and a 
body of concrete facts which have no power over each 
other. It is confidently believed that no better way 
can be found to enable the teacher to bridge the chasm 
between theory and practice than to exhibit the mind 
in the concrete process of working its way through his- 
tory till present day problems are reached. 

There must necessarily be two phases to our inves- 
tigation: the first will set forth the essential attributes 
of the material out of which history is constructed and 
the form which this science will take, thus exhibiting 
it as a system of ideas, — history reduced to a form of 



io General Nature of History 

thought; the second will investigate the mental forms 
and processes that history calls forth, — mind transformed 
into history, or at least transformed by history. 

The Logical Method. The first of these phases is 
the one in which we end with a logical view of history, 
— the form the subject must finally take in the mature 
mind. The logical method presents two phases: the 
deductive and the inductive. Both will be used but 
the stress will be upon the latter. The logical view 
is equally valuable to the teacher in every grade from 
the primary school to the university. This thought 
of the subject the university professor must build into 
the mind of the student and the primary teacher must 
hold it in view as the goal for which she is preparing 
her pupils; it is the ideal, on the side of the subject, 
that must inspire and beckon both. The discussion 
of the first phase naturally falls into two parts: one 
investigating the fundamental attributes of the subject- 
matter of history, and the other examining the function 
of these attributes in the process of giving the subject 
its scientific form. Although each of these sub-phases 
will have its turn in the discussion, it is not intended 
to keep them rigidly separate, but, for pedagogical 
reasons already given, they will be interwoven. When- 
ever conclusions are reached as to the nature of his- 
torical material, their pedagogical implications will 
generally be noted. 

The Psychological Method. The view taken by this 
method is that of the immature mind in the process of 
development. The particular problem of the psycho- 
logical method is the adjustment of historical material 
to the rapidly growing mind. The consideration of 
this problem, however, follows most economically after 
the discussion of the logical method and its application. 



Essential Elements of History n 

An Erroneous View of History. One of the most 
common errors about the nature of history is to regard 
it as a "record." It is not a record, at least not more 
so than is any other subject, for it does not deal with 
the record as such. History is hardly the thing recorded, 
for it does not deal with events for their own sake, but 
only so far as they reveal the life of which they are the 
result. The "record" idea of history is a conception 
both superficial and harmful, — superficial because it 
gives the teacher and student no clue to the real nature 
of the historical problem, and harmful because it both 
leads to the belief that the book is the subject, and 
suggests that the proper thing to do is to transfer the 
record from the book to the pupil's mind by means of 
verbal memory. 1 After making this brief statement of 
what history is not, let us go in quest of a conception 
that is more fundamental, and therefore more helpful; 
and one, too, that is drawn from a careful analysis of 
the material of history itself. 

Ideas of Form and Content, i. The Pilgrims landed 
on Plymouth Rock in 1620. There were one hundred 
and two of them. They made that stormy voyage in 
the Mayflower, and in the cabin of that little ship they 
signed the compact. Had the student been present, 
he could have seen these and many other physical facts: 
some he could have heard and others felt. These facts 
taken together constitute the physical act or event 
called the "Landing of the Pilgrims." But now the 
student can only picture the action or event. This 
action constitutes the form of the event. 

The facts given above could have been changed more 

1 This view of the subject leads to assigning lessons in terms of 
paragraphs and pages; and, what is still worse, the recitation is 
conducted in the same way. 



12 General Nature of History 

or less and our institutions have been what they are. 
But the ideas which the Pilgrims brought with them 
and which the " Landing" gave expression to in part 
could not have been seen, and could not have been 
changed without producing profound changes in our 
institutions. If the settlers in America had been ani- 
mated by different ideas, how different would our life 
have been. 

2. The Declaration of Independence was made in 
Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776, in 
the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson with the big signa- 
ture of John Hancock attached. The action or event 
could have been seen had the student been present, 
but now it belongs to the field of imagination. Does 
the significance of the Declaration lie in any or in all of 
the facts named above? Many of them are accidental; 
the Declaration might have been in Carpenters Hall, in 
some other month, on some other day, in the hand- 
writing of some clerk and signed by some other presi- 
dent. The vital thing in this act is the thought 
expressed, — the political doctrines contained in the Decla- 
ration. These are not picturable but can be apprehended 
by the judgment. They are not accidental but enduring, 
and cannot be changed without altering the whole course 
of the American Revolution. 

3. The battle of Gettysburg was seen, heard, and felt 
by its participants. It had a time and a place; there 
were so many soldiers in line on each side, and these 
were commanded by certain officers; so many men 
were killed and wounded. In short, a hundred inter- 
esting incidents connect themselves with this gigantic 
contest. But did these things constitute the real 
Gettysburg? Could not most, if not all, of these features 
have varied and yet the real historical fact have occurred? 



Essential Elements of History ij 

The ideas and principles that surged in the brains and 
hearts of the two armies and of the two sections, and 
without which the physical struggle would not have 
been, were the true Gettysburg. No; the student who 
does not see two sets of political, social, and industrial 
ideas belch from the opposing cannon and flash from 
sword and saber or gleam from deadly bayonet misses the 
permanent and enduring Gettysburg! 

Historical and Pedagogical Inferences. From this 
brief analysis, which may be continued indefinitely, the 
following inferences and implications may be made. i. 
That two sets of facts — one physical and picturable 
and the other mental and perceived by the judgment — 
run parallel through history. i The first set consists of 
a people's acts and the second of its thoughts, feelings, 
and motives. 

2. The acts or events are the signs or expressions of 
a people's thoughts and feelings. Man thinks and 
feels and then acts. He acts in a given way because 
he feels in a given way. When a nation is happy it 
passes resolutions of approval and builds memorials, 
but if it be angry it may pass resolutions of condemnation 
or go to war. The act varies as thoughts and emotions 
vary, and is therefore adapted to give expression to the 
state of mind of the actors. 

3. It may be said that action constitutes the outer 
form of history, and thoughts and emotions make up its 
inner essence. It follows, then, that the real problem of 
history lies in this content. Actions or events are means 
to the solution of this problem. 

4. Actions occur but ideas continue. Events are 
transient while ideas are enduring. Only ideas recur. 

1 Every school subject presents these two phases — form and 
content. 



14 General Nature of History 

The same idea, purpose, or sentiment may express itself 
in various actions of very different characteristics. The 
event, therefore, is particular while the content is general. 
Connections or relations in history are to be found in 
content rather than in form. 

5. Primarily, acts are effects, while thoughts and 
feelings are causes. But a people acting under the 
impulse of an idea may modify it greatly. In a secondary 
sense, then, events are causes and ideas are effects. 
The suggestion is that the teacher must see that the 
student catch the change in public sentiment that comes 
through action, as well as search for the true cause of 
events in a preceding state of public sentiment. 

Why History Grows. Due to Differences and Con- 
flicts in Content. It must be apparent, from the conclu- 
sions reached, that the problem of how to study and teach 
history can be illuminated by a closer study of thought 
and sentiment, — the life of a people. This life moves 
forward by virtue of the forces within. These forces 
are differences which arise in the content of history and 
which tend to express themselves in events. The differ- 
ences may attract no attention at first, — may be uncon- 
scious. They may also be strong enough that men begin 
to take sides. Parties may be formed to bring to pass 
ideas and interests in direct conflict. Differences may 
lead to collisions powerful enough to sweep nations into 
war. 

From the above the following conclusions may be 
drawn : 

1. That the student of history must watch for the rise 
of differences in ideas and for the gathering of men into 
parties. 

2. That in some cases differences lead to disputes, 
conflicts of opinion, and even war. 



Essential Elements of History ij 

3. Conflicts do not occur over political events alone, 
but over religious, educational, industrial, and social 
differences. 

4. Herein lies a large part of the ethical value of his- 
tory to the student. 

How History Grows. Laws of Continuity and Differ- 
entiation. The way growth takes place may be seen 
from the following: A long time ago an English king 
called around him his richest nobles to see how much 
they would give to carry on government or to prosecute 
war. This was repeated till it became a right on the part 
of the lords to grant or refuse aid. After a time, other 
classes sent representatives to advise the king. The 
two sets of advisers formed the two houses of parlia- 
ment, and the people, through these representatives, 
managed the government of England. The English 
colonies carried this idea to America. In early colonial 
times there was but one set of representatives for purposes 
of legislation, — men elected to represent the town or 
county in the colonial legislatures. But long before the 
Revolution, nearly all of the colonies had two sets of 
representatives. The Revolution called for a third set 
of delegates to represent the colony in the Continental 
Congress. The idea of delegated authority has made 
great strides since that time. Now the ward has its 
representatives in the common council, the township has 
its delegates to the commissioners' court, while the 
county elects men to go to the state legislature, and the 
states in turn elect two sets of representatives to the 
national Congress. The idea goes further: it has pene- 
trated religious, educational, and industrial organi- 
zations, and seems to furnish a convenient method of 
conducting affairs in a large way. The complexity of 
the system is in striking contrast with the simple method 



1 6 General Nature of History 

of the colonial days or of the still simpler way of early 
England. 

Continuity and differentiation in the content of history 
are also well illustrated by the development of the idea 
of toleration in religion. Once Virginia persecuted 
Puritans and Baptists, while Massachusetts banished 
Roger Williams and hanged Quakers; but even in colonial 
times, the laws against Quakers were either repealed or 
not enforced, and the penalties against heresy were greatly 
reduced. The wars with the French and Indians and 
the revolutionary struggle wore off the sharp edges of 
religious prejudice still further, so that most of the states 
recognized religious freedom in their new constitutions. 
The sentiment of toleration won its way so completely 
that the Constitution declared the national legal separation 
of church and state; but religious freedom has not ceased 
growing after winning a formal and legal recognition of 
its right; it is now taking on the form of a moral and 
personal right. The large and increasing number of 
religious sects at present, compared with the number in 
colonial days, shows how rapidly differentiation in reli- 
gious belief has gone on. 

Other illustrations of these laws may be found by 
tracing the development of our public-school system 
from its colonial germs to its present high degree of com- 
plexity, and also by marking the evolution of the crude 
industrial ways of our early settlers down to the highly 
developed organism of our own times. 1 

Conclusions drawn: i. That the subject matter of 

history is the life of the people in the process of growth 

under the laws of continuity and differentiation. 2. 

J The importance of clearly understanding these laws justifies 
large illustration. Each new illustration can be made more helpful 
by using a different sort of idea from those found in preceding 
illustrations. 



Essential Elements of History 17 

That the law of continuity means that there is a connected 
movement forward in the life of the people without 
breaks or gaps. Growth is continuous: it proceeds out 
of antecedent ideas and interests. Continuity preserves 
the old and appeals to the conservative. 3. The law of 
differentiation means that the thoughts and feelings of 
a people take on new forms in the process of growth. 
In adding something new to the content of history it 
increases its complexity. Differentiation produces con- 
flicts and therefore appeals to the progressive. 4. That 
the understanding of history requires the student to 
take ideas as germs and trace them through all phases of 
their growth, thus putting continuous and similar con- 
tent into different events; and to see along the line of 
development new phases of the idea appearing, thus put- 
ting different and contrasting ideas into the content. 
5. When the student has traced an idea from its origin 
through its different transformations, till he sees it 
functioning in present day affairs, he will have a grip 
upon it that is enduring and will have an interest in it 
that is everlasting. 

Five Fundamental Institutions in History. Not only 
do movements of thought and feeling in the life of the 
people develop under the laws of continuity and differ- 
entiation, but the life of the race, as a whole, grows 
in the same way. An examination of the life of any people 
will reveal certain permanent features common to the 
history of all civilized nations. There will be found five 
well-marked phases, — a political, a religious, an educa- 
tional, an industrial, and a social phase. These are fur- 
ther differentiated by the fact that each has a great 
organization, called an institution, around which it clus- 
ters, and whose purpose, plan of work, and machinery 
are peculiar to itself. For political ideas the center is 



18 General Nature of History 

the institution called government; for religious ideas, 
the church; for educational and culture influences, the 
school; for industrial life, occupation; and for social 
customs, the family. But there was a time when 
these elements of life were not so fully differentiated. 
Primitive history shows that, in the beginning, institu- 
tional life presented itself to man's consciousness as a 
simple and undivided whole. Abraham did not separate 
in thought his political from his religious duties; nor did 
he think of his business and social interests as different 
and disconnected. In his day there were only the germs 
of a government, a church, and a school; and these were 
so interwoven with other interests that they constituted 
one great life. But between then and now the principle 
of differentiation has done its work so perfectly that we 
can think of the government without the church coming 
into mind, and so with the other institutions. These » 
institutions have become great crystallized centers of 
life around which the thoughts and feelings of a people 
grow. 

Growth, operating under the law of continuity, becomes 
permanent by being embodied, through law or custom, 
in its appropriate institution. Growth in political 
thought and feeling finds entrance into government; 
public sentiment, under the pressure of war, abolished 
slavery in this country, and the result was written in our 
constitution; the rise of political parties has added many 
new customs to our method of president-making. A 
movement in religious sentiment may ultimately embody 
itself in church, creed, or custom. The admission of 
women to colleges on equal terms with men shows that 
the school adjusts itself to the growth of educational 
ideas; the idea of a practical education, so called, has 
spread till all classes of schools — the public school, the 



Essential Elements of History ig 

college, and the university — have felt its touch and have 
remodeled courses of study so as to harmonize with the 
new idea. Similarly this is true of social and industrial 
life. This crystallization of institutional thought and 
feeling makes progress possible, — a given generation profit- 
ing by the labor of the one that is past, and building for 
the one that is to come. 

But this is not all gain; for an idea, after embodiment 
in institutions through formal enactment or by well- 
established custom, tends to cease growing, it becomes 
very largely a conservative force, and hinders, to some 
extent, further progress, appealing to men of conservative 
tendencies. The established order in society sets itself 
up in the minds of people as an ideal to be maintained, 
and public sentiment moves away only after another 
and different ideal wins the people to its support. 

Since public opinion, operating under the law of dif- 
ferentiation, is seldom unanimous, it is impossible to 
embody all its phases in a rule of action. 

Inferences from the Growth of Institutions, i. That 
the facts of history may be grouped in five classes and 
that lines have proceeded out of the past, differentiating 
along the route of growth until five fundamental institu- 
tions have resulted. 2. History is not confined to 
politics but includes the entire life of the people. 3 . That 
the student must group the facts of history around these 
lines of development, thus giving linear continuity to it 
and suggesting a clue to its organization. 4. Such 
movements, embodied in institutions, have now the 
support of the majority which ceases to make much 
progress. 5. That the more advanced phases of sentiment 
do not, for the time, become embodied in law, custom, 
or constitution, and thus form germs that may produce 
a conflict between what is and what ought to be. Hence, 



20 General Nature of History 

the student must take account of sentiments that fail 
to find acceptance with the majority. 

The Five Phases not Coordinate in Value. — While 
these great ganglia of humanity's life are all structurally 
essential to its well-being, yet they are not, at all times 
and in all movements of that life, of equal historical value. 
Movements, large or small, have been characterized 
usually by the predominance of one of these phases. 
Now it is the religious, again the political ; and at another 
time the social and economic are so blended in the move- 
ment that neither seems to dominate; often, as will be 
demonstrated below, the results may be profoundly felt 
in all phases of institutional life, although very seldom 
found equally distributed among them. 

Industrial institutions absorb public attention in our 
age more than any others. This is partly an epochal 
tendency, for it was hardly true of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries. But it is mainly true now because 
industrial questions have so extended themselves as to 
outrank all other interests. Government, however, i 
undertakes to adjust the interests of the various institu- 
tions so as to promote the best life of the whole and' of its 
parts. Each institution reacts upon government, and 
affects it both directly and indirectly. The state, there- 
fore, gives direction, not only to political history, but to 
all history. Since politics are not political only, it seems 
natural that the political-industrial phase of life should con- 
stitute to-day a greater portion of history than any other. 

The Organic Unity of Institutional Life. Although 
the process of differentiation has given us five well- 
marked sets of institutional ideas, yet the principle of 
continuity teaches us to look for their organic unity. 
Some illustrations will set forth this life-connection 
between the phases. 



Essential Elements of History 21 

The French and Indian war was a great military event, 
and, as such, belonged immediately to the domain of 
government. It produced, as we should expect, great 
political results, but besides there flowed from it religious 
and industrial consequences of almost infinite importance. 
This struggle, ending with victory for the English, decided 
that henceforth English customs of life should prevail in 
North America rather than French; as a consequence 
the religion of England, Protestantism, became the 
predominant religion of the colonies, instead of Cathol- 
icism, which was the state church of France. If, however, 
victory had been won by France, the religious effect would 
have been just as great, and the principle of historical 
growth would have been as fully illustrated. Again, 
this war brought into personal contact the Puritan, the 
Baptist, the Catholic, the Protestant, the Dutchman, 
and the Cavalier; they messed together, marched together, 
and fought together; they shared each other's joys and 
sorrows, victories and defeats. Seven years of this and 
other forms of mutual intercourse did much to tone down 
religious exclusiveness and prejudice. A series of military 
events thus produced profound religious effects. This 
war also decided that free, public instead of parochial, 
schools should be the rule in America. This long struggle 
burdened both England and the colonies with heavy 
debts. The former tried to lighten her load by putting 
new burdens on the trade of the latter. The colonies 
replied by refusing to have commercial intercourse with 
England, and began to develop their own resources, 
which led the way to industrial as well as to political 
independence. So much for the political, religious, 
educational, industrial, and social effects of a series of 
military events. 

The American Revolution was a mighty political 



22 General Nature of History 

upheaval whose forces are not yet spent. The American 
people came out of this struggle with greatly modified 
social, moral, and religious ideas and feelings. 

Let us push our examination further by looking at a form 
of growth that did not have its origin in politics. The 
planters at Jamestown took that first cargo of dusky 
freight purely as a business venture; they simply asked 
how to raise tobacco in the easiest and cheapest way; 
they had no thought of its bearing on the other forms of 
institutional life. The venture proved to be a financial 
success and the system of slave labor filled the South. 
But slavery gave the master and his children wealth and 
leisure, while to the non-slaveholding white, it brought 
poverty and toil; he could hardly win a competence 
for himself and family in competition with slave labor; 
whatever his ambition, the poor white could seldom break 
over the industrial barrier that slavery built between him 
and success. The children of the planter could be 
educated, but this institution, which began as a business 
venture, denied to the child of the non-slaveholder an 
opportunity for an education; poverty could not educate 
its children, and slavery refused to build free schools. 
These differences drew a sharp line through Southern 
social life. There was little fellowship between the two 
classes of families, for this industrial venture had given 
into the hands of one class all the social amenities that 
wealth, leisure, and intelligence could bring, while to the 
other these were practically denied. All these influences 
made the slaveholder the politician of the South; no 
other class was so well fitted for statesmanship. He 
was the most desirable man to send to the colonial legisla- 
tures, and afterwards to the National Congress. This 
industrial venture seemed to favor office-holding, for the 
South, at all times, furnished a larger proportion of 



Essential Elements of History 2j 

national officials, according to her population, than did 
any other section of the country. In the colonial legisla- 
tures, the slaveholder naturally passed laws that favored 
the development of this industrial system. Thus in the 
nation at large, slavery virtually organized and destroyed 
political parties, dictated the nomination of candidates 
for the presidency, defeated candidates opposed to its 
interests, declared war, and made treaties. Not only 
did this industrial system thus mold the politics of our 
country, but it also colored the moral and religious 
thought and feeling of the entire nation; it led Southern 
pulpits to interpret Holy Writ in its defense; it rent in 
twain religious organizations that were hoary with age. 
Thus we see that negro slavery, an industrial institution 
in its origin, affected most profoundly every phase of our 
institutional life. 

If this analysis be correct, the following conclusions 
may be drawn: 

i. That the life of a people is an organic whole; that 
this life is one mighty stream of five currents moving on 
toward one goal; that there is not one destiny for govern- 
ment, another for the church, another still for the school, 
and a different one for industrial and social interests, but 
that all these constitute one life with one destiny. 

2. That the student must trace transverse and intri- 
cate, as well as parallel, lines of growth in the subject of 
history; that he must take each great event and each 
great series of events, and discover the extent to which 
many or all of the institutions are affected, thus producing 
in his own mind a body of organized knowledge which 
shall be the subjective counterpart of that objective unity 
found in the life of a people. 

3. Incidentally this illustration shows, in a general 
way, how an idea or an institution is to be traced from 



24 General Nature of History 

its beginnings till it reaches and influences the present; 
that the student may discover how the idea, with all its 
accumulations of a great past, may touch the present at 
so many points. 

4. The life history of an idea or institution produces 
a profound impression on the student. It gives him a 
deepened respect for the institution and makes him 
alive to its present-day needs. 



PROCESSES INVOLVED IN ORGANIZING 
HISTORY 

The General Nature of Organization. The general 
principles wrought out in the preceding pages throw some 
light on the possibility of organizing historical material. 
It is now proposed to ask how the mind takes what appears 
at first view as disconnected and isolated facts of history 
and organizes them into a consistent body of knowledge; 
to state and illustrate the particular processes through 
which this material goes, and the final form it takes 
in the mind of the student. This will make clear the 
transformation of historical matter into a system of 
thought. 

The analysis of the processes involved in organizing a 
subject makes the student conscious of the so-called 
scientific or logical view of the subject. Science declares 
that every subject of investigation presents two sets of 
facts for organization, generals, and individuals, — laws 
and principles on the one hand, and particular and specific 
phenomena on the other. Neither set, viewed alone, 
constitutes the subject, nor do both, taken merely in the 
aggregate; it is only when the mind grasps these two 
sets of facts in their organic unity that we have a subject 
in the true scientific sense. The relation is a vital one, 
for science declares that principles 1 are originally dis- 
covered by the examination of individual facts, while 

1 Principles in history resemble all others in being general in 
their nature, and differ from some in being active forces moving to 
the production of the individual facts through which they express 
themselves. Like most principles, they inhere in content rather 
than in form, and vary in degree of generality from those found in 
a few individual facts to those sweeping in all the individuals of 
the subject. 

3 2 5 



26 General Nature of History 

the latter are to be looked upon as the concrete embodi- 
ment of principles; in other words, if the mind begins 
with one it must pass to the other and back again in 
order to realize the scientific ideal so far as organization 
is concerned. The problem of organization, there- 
fore, is really the problem of constructing a science, that 
is, of discovering, stating, and explaining the logical 
relations between these two sets of facts. 

Organization is, therefore, a mental process and not a 
mechanical one. No subject, as many teachers unfortu- 
nately think, can be organized in a notebook or on a 
blackboard. At best, such an arrangement of words and 
signs can only suggest a few of the relations and processes 
involved in organization. Too often systems of lines, 
braces, and brackets delude the student and become 'a 
substitute for that real organization which can take place 
only in the thinking mind. 

The Organizing Principle of History. There is a 
central principle in every subject which sets it off from 
every other subject, and at the same time is the very 
core of its every phase and fact. 1 In history we have 
found this central principle to be the growth of institu- 
tional life, because this idea touches and is touched by 
all the great events which mark the course of human 
destiny. Some events have helped and some have 
hindered the evolution of institutional life, but all have 
been related to it. Not only is this principle fundamental 
to all events, but also to all sub-phases of human thought 
and feeling, whether they be marked by periods of calm 
or periods of agitation, — periods of evolution or periods 
of revolution. 

*A fact may be found in one or in many subjects according as 
it contains the central idea of one or many subjects.^ The same 
fact may appear in biology, geology, and history, but in each case 
it is related to a different principle and exhibits a different content. 



Processes in Organizing History 2J 

The Fundamental Processes in Organization. We 

have already learned that organization names the proc- 
esses by which the mind arranges the material of a sub- 
ject according to its inherent relations. Based upon 
the relations between the principles of history and its 
particular facts, historical organization has two funda- 
mental processes : 

i. Interpretation, which gives the basis for integra- 
tion and division or differentiation ; 

2. Coordination and subordination, which results in 
the proper selection and ranking of facts. 

The Process of Interpretation 
nature and kinds 

Definition of Interpretation. ( Interpretation is the 
process by which the mind puts meaning or content into 
individual facts. ) Like organization, interpretation is a 
universal process and goes on wherever mind and object 
meet. In each individual fact two phases of content 
are discovered by interpretation: one phase is common 
to many other facts, while the other is peculiar to the 
interpreted fact. When interpretation reveals a content 
common to many individuals the basis of integration is 
found, while the discovery of the particularizing element 
furnishes the ground for division or differentiation. 

In history the process of interpretation is carried on by 
discovering the growth of institutional life in particular 
events or in some more individual phase of thought and 
feeling, f There are thus two kinds of interpretation in 
history; one puts content into events, and the other puts 
content into subordinate phases of institutional life. 

The Interpretation of Events. Here external occur- 
rences are viewed as the sign of some internal movement 



28 General Nature of History 

of thought and feeling. To discover this movement 
through its sign, the event, is to interpret the latter. 
We have learned that just as a word is the sign of an 
idea, so is the act of a people the sign of their ideas and 
feelings. Some events are more easily interpreted 
because a people in conscious action generally selects the 
kind of event best adapted to give expression to its states 
of thought and feeling. Hence, the events of history are 
a sort of language into and out of which we read a people's 
life. 

The full meaning of an event is obtained by viewing it 
under four relations: i. As a product of a preceding 
movement in thought and feeling. Here the event is 
seen to emerge from the concrete life of a people and to 
be a natural and normal result of surrounding conditions. 
In other words, the event is viewed as a sort of receptacle 
into which the preceding current of public sentiment 
flows, and which it really created in the course of its 
development. 2. The second step in the interpretation 
of an event is to view it as a factor producing changes in 
the movement out of which it grew. Here the event 
returns, as it were, into the stream of institutional life, 
and works there those changes which it is capable of 
producing as cause. 3. If the event to be interpreted 
is a great one, or is long continued, then a third step 
must be taken, namely, to see how public opinion changes 
while the event is in the process of occurring. The 
excitement of action intensifies thinking, and produces 
changes in the minds of the persons involved. These 
changes are often very great, as in the case of a series 
of events, or of a period. 4. In the fourth place, fuller 
meaning and deeper interest may be given to the event 
or series by recalling similar events or by pointing for- 
ward to the recurrence of this idea in other events. Some 



Processes in Organizing History 2Q 

illustration of the interpretation of events will serve to 
make the conception more accurate. 

The founding of Jamestown was an external event, 
and it remains such to the student until it is discovered 
to be the product and the sign of England's desire to 
extend her institutions and her interests to the west- 
ern continent. Still further content is given to this 
event, when its success is seen to stimulate the national 
desire for colonial empire and for the planting of other 
colonies. 

The formation of societies for non-importation by 
the colonial merchants is an event to be interpreted. In 
general, this is to be done by discovering in these organi- 
zations an idea reaching further than they did, and which 
appears as content in a wider range of events, and also 
by discovering in them a form of sentiment peculiar 
to them. The idea found as the content in these events 
is that of cooperation then (1765) growing up and begin- 
ning to control the acts of the colonists from Maine to 
Georgia. We put this sentiment into these organiza- 
tions by discovering that they are caused by agitation 
for organized resistance to the Stamp Act. In doing 
this the student views this series of events as the natural 
outgrowth of the movement toward cooperation begun 
before 1765. But he must take another step, and trace 
the immediate effect of participation in organizations on 
the further growth of this sentiment, and thus gather 
their contribution to this great struggle. It can be 
done by watching how cooperation in their formation 
and functions roused a stronger sentiment, — how it 'made 
aggressive the society of the Sons of Liberty; gave origin 
to the Daughters of Liberty with their organizations for 
the promotion of household production and the develop- 
ment of an infectious enthusiasm for American liberty; 



jo General Nature of History 

and, finally, how it stimulated those lower passions of hate 
and spite between the friends and foes of the new move- 
ment, and made each firmer in the position taken. But 
the student must go further in his interpretation, and 
trace the effect of non-importation upon American 
thought and feeling. He must see how the merchants 
gained greater confidence in cooperation and union 
through these organizations, since by them they entail 
an immense financial loss upon the English merchant, 
manufacturer, and laborer. Here the student ought to 
see the consternation of these classes : of the merchant 
as no more orders for goods came from America, of the 
manufacturer as he closed his establishment or dis- 
charged a portion of his laborers, of the latter as they 
ceased to draw wages, and were unable to pay debts 
and to buy food; and the united action of all these in 
storming parliament with petitions, and finally the 
speeches in that body which reveal changing national 
sentiment in favor of repeal. In these facts he will 
discover the true explanation of how fidelity to union 
was exalted into a virtue, and how opposition was regarded 
as a crime; how non-importation began to be looked 
upon as an efficient means of commercial retaliation, 
which lasted long after the revolution was over. Finally 
a new point of view is gained when the student looks 
upon the non-importation agreement as a revolutionary 
weapon — a boycott — to be used in forcing the English 
Parliament and people. 

The American Revolution may be interpreted, as a 
whole, as a single event, having a preceding state of 
thought and feeling (causes) consisting of a progressive 
movement, and, finally, of a new phase of thought and 
feeling (results). 

It may not be amiss to explain here how the process 



Processes in Organizing History 31 

of interpretation cannot be carried on. It is customary, 
when explaining the non-importation societies, simply 
to say that "they were caused by the Stamp Act." For 
the student, this may or may not be true. In one sense 
it cannot be true, for one external act has little, if any, 
direct historical influence over another. The Stamp 
Act and the non-importation societies, as external facts 
pictured in imagination, were three thousand miles 
apart and could not touch each other. Let us suppose 
that physical contact is not meant. Can the teacher 
be certain from the statement quoted what is meant? 
Ordinarily it would not mean that the relation to public 
sentiment had been traced; that these organizations 
had been seen to grow out of, and back into, this senti- 
ment. Perhaps the pupil is left to the ingenuity of his 
own imagination to discover the true relations between 
these events. So long as that imagination passes directly 
from one event to another, no possibility of interpreta- 
tion exists, for one individual fact has no interpretative 
power over another of the same rank. 

On its practical side, interpretation may serve a use- 
ful end by bringing light from the content of past 
events to bear on present day movements. This may be 
done in three ways: 1. By finding conditions in the 
past that resemble present day doings. The reforms 
of Solon and the Gracchi will cast light on the reforms 
of Lloyd-George in England. 2. By presenting events or 
movements standing in striking contrast to those of our 
own times. The Puritan and the French revolutions not 
only show decided differences when contrasted with 
each other, but both have valuable lessons for our own 
times. 3. Bringing to present movements the long 
train of kindred ideas which have moved down con- 
tinuously from the past. These events have most im- 



J2 General Nature of History 

port ant lessons, because based upon continuity of content. 
The Interpretation of Phases of Institutional Life. 

The fact that the principles of a subject vary in degree of 
generality, and that the less general phases of institu- 
tional growth are phases of some more general movement, 
makes the process of interpretation possible for this 
class of historical facts. This form of interpretation may 
be illustrated in a brief manner by the following example. 
The dominant idea in forming the Confederation, the 
cause for which the small states struggled in the con- 
vention of 1787, the principle in the Kentucky and 
Virginia resolutions, the recommendations of the Hart- 
ford convention, the doctrine of nullification as set forth 
by Calhoun and South Carolina, and the principle of 
secession, were only phases of the same great idea, — the 
sovereignty of the state. For the mind to discover the 
identity of this general institutional idea with this large 
number of apparently isolated and particular phases, is 
to interpret them. The meaning of each particular 
phase is greatly enriched by discovering in it the principle 
of state sovereignty. Other illustrations on a large 
scale may be found in the phases of union developed 
during the revolution, and also in the sentiment of 
nationality from 1789 to i860. 

FORMS OP THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT AS DISCOVERED IN 
INTERPRETATION 

Causes. It must be apparent, already, that the 
process of interpretation aims to put the student into 
close and intimate contact with the people whose life he 
studies. How to make events and other facts adequately 
reflect that life is a vital question in teaching history. 
In order to do this, at least all the important phases of 
thought and sentiment in a given movement must be 



Processes in Organizing History 33 

reached. All the various colorings that public opinion 
puts on in its process of growth will serve to deepen and 
enrich impressions. It is absolutely essential to right 
interpretation that history be conceived as a process. 
But it is difficult to view it as such, although we have 
seen this to be a fundamental characteristic of its content. 
The imagination is prone to picture scenes and situations 
and thus deceive the judgment into thinking history 
statical. This view is best corrected by constantly tracing 
the influences and forces that produce the historical 
process. Such factors are denominated causes, but they 
are such to the student only when traced into the current 
of institutional life. It is quite fashionable now to go 
outside the historical field into the domain of geology, 
geography, and so on, to find some of the causes of the 
historical process. This is entirely proper and necessary, 
provided the student can trace these extra-historical 
causes into the current of human thought and feeling 
and note there the changes made. Only in this way 
can other subjects contribute to the interpretation of 
history. 

Every Fact in History is Both Cause and Effect. We 
have already seen that in the general process of inter- 
pretation the student must put into the event the public 
sentiment that precedes and succeeds it. In doing this 
he views the outcome of events as both cause and effect. 
In truth, every fact of history is both cause and effect. 
This is a universal law and controls wherever life is. No 
complete interpretation is possible without taking this 
double relationship into account. The election of Lincoln 
looks back to the split in the Democratic Party as its 
immediate cause and forward to secession as its immediate 
effect. How inadequate the explanation of this great 
event to view it as either without the other! "View 



34 General Nature of History 

the election of Lincoln both as an effect and a cause," 
is a typical question. It will make interpretation clearer 
if we look at the nature of historical causes. 

Positive and Negative Causes. On the basis of their 
essential nature we may class causes as positive or negative. 
Public sentiment, or any force which molds public senti- 
ment, is positive when by virtue of its essential nature it 
tends toward progress, tends to promote civilization. 
A positive cause is constructive in intent and being. A 
negative cause is a phase of public sentiment or a force 
which tends, from its inherent nature, to be destructive, 
or at least obstructive; it tends to stand in the way of 
progress. Thus the sentiment that favored union in the 
colonies against the aggression of England was posi- 
tive, while the attitude of king and parliament was nega- 
tive. The sentiment in favor of a strong government 
during the Confederation was a positive cause, for, 
in its nature, it was progressive and constructive; while 
the opposition to the adoption of the Constitution was 
a negative cause, for the reason that it tended from 
its nature to hinder progress. The causes of the Civil 
War, or of any great war, may be classified in the same 
way. If revolutions be compared as to the number of 
positive and negative causes, it will be found that the 
greater number of negative causes belong to the most 
destructive revolutions, while the number of positive 
causes increases as the revolution approaches the character 
of an evolution in institutional life. Hence, the inter- 
pretative value of classifying the causes of a movement 
in history under these categories. 

Closer analysis will show that a result is seldom the 
product of a single cause, but more often the resultant 
of many causes. When a negative force is powerful 
enough to push the result in its own direction, it may be 



Processes in Organizing History 35 

called a negative result. When the resultant is the 
product of a collision of forces, as in the case of parties 
or of nations, the cause is generally viewed by one as 
positive and by the other as negative. 

Fundamental and Particular Causes. In viewing 
the contents of events as active forces, a more valuable 
classification of causes may be found based upon differ- 
ences in the degree of generality in the content. On 
this basis the student will discover that some are particular 
and special, while others are general and fundamental. 
The particular and the general, we have seen, bear a 
vital relation to each other in every department of knowl- 
edge. Hence, to be able to discover a series of causes 
as particular phases of some greater truth means not 
only more perfect interpretation, but is a long step 
toward organization in the form of integration. An 
illustration will make this clear. Let us take the causes 
of the decline of the Confederation. Here they are, as 
frequently seen in text-books : 

1. The Confederation had no executive or judicial 
department. 

2. Congress could not raise an army. 

3 . No power of direct or indirect taxation was given to 
the Confederation. 

4. Congress had no control over domestic commerce. 

5. Congress could not enforce treaties with other 
nations. 

6. The Confederation operated on states and not on 
individuals. 

7. The Articles of Confederation recognized the sov- 
ereignty of the state. 

8. Voting in congress was by states. 

9. The people owed allegiance to the state only. 
The effect of these and of other causes that might be 



j6 General Nature of History 

named was the destruction of the Confederation. As 
causes, they were forces in the process of working out 
the result indicated. The student must see them as 
such — must witness them in this process — if the right 
interpretation is to be made and a proper value set on 
each cause as a factor in the result. But there are three 
views, any one of which he may take. He may look 
upon these statements as expressing a given amount of 
historical fact, statistical in its nature, which may be 
learned by using memory, thus gaining no interpretation. 
Again, the student may see each of these as a real force 
moving toward its own result. Each is thus only an 
individual and isolated cause and hence of little organizing 
value. This is always the result of seeing only a series 
of direct or particular causes. 

The above points of view may be taken without the 
consciousness of the fundamental cause coming into the 
student's mind. In this state of mind he sees no con- 
nection between the first cause given above and the last 
one. The identity of causes two, three, four, and so on, 
with the last cause in the list is not perceived. The only 
connection, the only kinship among these causes that 
this view gives is that each aids, as a cause, in produc- 
ing the same result, — the downfall of the Confederation. 
This process is vastly superior to the first named, for it 
yields more discipline and a better understanding of 
the subject. 

Another view may be taken: the general or fundamental 
cause may be found and the others may be interpreted 
with reference to it. The careful comparison and contrast 
of the causes listed above will show that the first eight 
are closely related to the ninth cause. By common 
consent, when the colonists transferred their allegiance 
from England, they gave it on all domestic concerns 



Processes in Organizing History jy 

primarily to their respective colonial governments. The 
Continental Congress recognized this relation in creating 
the Confederation by making the states, in the main, 
sovereign. Wherever primary allegiance is placed, there 
sovereignty will reside. This shows that allegiance 
conditions sovereignty, and that cause seven is the result 
of cause nine. Great men like Madison and Hamilton 
attributed much of the Confederation's weakness to the 
fact that it did not operate on individuals. The truth is 
that the Confederation had no individuals — citizens — on 
which to operate. The people were citizens of the states, 
because they had placed their allegiance there; hence, cause 
nine is the cause of cause six. Why could not congress 
enforce treaties made by itself? Who violated such 
treaties? Evidently the citizens of the states. What 
power had congress over them? None, since they owed 
allegiance to their respective states. Thus, cause five is 
the effect of cause nine. The fourth cause in the list 
bears a similar relation to the last one. Logically, the 
framers of the Confederation could not have given the 
Confederation control over domestic commerce after 
recognizing that the people owed it no direct allegiance. 
It would simply have aggravated the situation if the 
Confederation had been given executive and judicial 
departments. The attempt of the executive to enforce 
the laws of congress or execute the decisions of the judges 
would have brought the states and the Confederation 
into violent collision, for the citizens of the states would 
have been constantly appealing to their own authorities 
for protection. The men who made the Articles were 
more logical than some of their critics have been. 

In the same way the remaining particular causes of the 
fall of the Confederation may be traced to the fundamental 
cause, thus illustrating its interpreting value, as compared 



j8 General Nature of History 

with the other possible ways of viewing the causes of this 
great event in American history. From every point of 
view we must see that the reduction of these causes to 
their highest terms is vastly more to be desired than either 
of the other methods of working with them. 

It thus appears possible to reduce a series of particular 
causes to one fundamental one, or at least to a few. In 
no subject is it more difficult than in history to reduce 
diversity to unity. The constant tendency of the student, 
especially in dealing with causes, is to enumerate facts 
which have obvious differences and take it for granted 
that a new fact has been discovered, when in truth the 
new fact may be only another embodiment of a general 
idea which has already been often discovered in other 
particular facts. A similar study of the causes of the 
Civil War will show like results, the reduction of a larger 
number of particular causes to one, slavery, or at most 
two, slavery and state sovereignty. This illustration 
is an example of the process of interpreting great move- 
ments as a whole in the light of their causes, and may also 
be viewed as illustrating the interpretation of particular 
phases of thought 1 rather than the interpretation of 
events. It is very apparent that the teacher may set his 
class a very interesting and valuable problem: Analyze 
the particular causes in order to obtain a general cause 
and show how the general cause is found in each particu- 
lar cause. 

The classification applied to causes may be extended to 
effects with the same educational advantages. The inter- 
pretation of a movement as a whole requires a study, not 
only of causes, but also of its effects, for the nature of 
a movement is partly expressed in its results. Results 

1 Other illustrations of this most important form of interpreta- 
tion will be given under the various periods. 



Processes in Organizing History jq 

reflect to a large extent the movement as a whole which 
produced them. Hence, to classify these as positive or 
negative and as general or particular is to give a fuller 
understanding of the movement. 

Purpose and Means. The process of interpretation is 
not complete if it leaves out of the content of historical 
facts the intention and motives of men. The concrete 
ambitions of men, organizations, parties, armies, are in 
conflict. The conflicting interests are factors in the 
movement of history. Most of the physical forces of 
history are transformed and enter human consciousness 
as motives and ends on account of which men struggle. 

Causes and effects may come and go in history for a 
long time without arresting the attention of the people, 
or, at most, without absorbing enough notice by touching 
their interests to create a conscious effort for a well-defined 
end. As long as this is true, the categories of cause and 
effect are sufficient to account for and to interpret historical 
movements. But when causes and their effects begin 
to be more widely recognized, men assume a new attitude 
toward them. As the movement increases in intensity, 
persons arise who seek to promote or retard it, or it may 
be, to use it for other and ulterior ends. When this 
stage is reached, the student must take into account the 
transformation that has taken place. What was once an 
unconscious moving energy becomes now a great stream 
of thought and activity marching toward some well-defined 
goal. A striking illustration of this transformation of 
cause and effect into means and end is seen in the growth 
of sentiment that made the Civil War possible. Without 
trying to be very specific we may say that one of the 
causes of the struggle was the estrangement that grew up 
between the two sections. This result was of slow growth, 
its roots extending far back into colonial days. But in 



40 General Nature of History 

that early time no one recognized or took account of it, — 
its work was going on silently. It was not until the 
first quarter of the last century that great statesmen in 
both sections began to bestow upon it anything like 
continuous thought. The Missouri struggle was the 
first event to call general attention to the growing gulf, 
and although the Webster-Hayne debate, nullification, 
and the struggle for the right of petition attracted still 
wider attention to the disparity in thought and feeling 
between the two sections, the idea of their estrangement 
took great hold on only a few minds. From now on, 
Webster and Clay are devoted, each in his way, to the 
preservation of the Union, while Calhoun, perhaps uncon- 
sciously, gives up his life to a cause that could only 
promote the growing estrangement of the two portions; 
yet it is plain that the majority of the people at this 
time did not take the question into their thoughts 
and feelings and resolve to accomplish certain ends, — 
one part of the people had not yet resolved to give 
its life to secession or the other to the preservation 
of the Union. More and more, however, these ideas 
began to win men to their support, till, in the latter part 
of the fifties, as the old parties were dissolving under the 
pressure of the conflict, the two sections stood arrayed 
against each other, one marshaling its forces under the 
banner of the Confederacy and the other under the flag 
of the Union. Yet even at the opening of the war the 
sections were not agreed among themselves as to the 
supreme end of the conflict. For in the South some 
held to secession only as a means of preserving slavery, 
while in the North some still called for the destruction of 
slavery as the highest aim of the war. 

Other illustrations will be found in the organizing ideas 
of the various periods. The same law of growth — the 



Processes in Organizing History 41 

transformation of causes and effects into purposes and 
means — will be seen. The mastery of this relation 
between these two pairs of categories is essential in the 
explanation of great movements in history. It will be 
seen how inadequate an explanation is that which rests 
on causes and effects alone, or upon purposes and means 
alone. It should be made clear that purposes and motives 
often arise out of conditions and in the presence of facts 
that may be called causes, and that these causes are 
modified by the purposes they originate and the means 
used in their realization. 

The Form of an Event Due Mainly to its Purpose. The 
effort to attain ends projected by men as individuals 
or as nations will give rise to a series of events. This 
suggests that purposes are causes. In fact, it is rightly 
held that the purpose of an event, if it have one, is its true 
cause. At least, the peculiar form of the event is due to 
the fact that it comes into being as a means to accomplish 
a result that exists in idea before the event takes place. 
This difference the student must always detect between 
an event resulting from an ordinary cause and one that 
results from a purpose. For on the difference in the form 
of events depends the conclusion as to whether they 
result from conscious or unconscious thought and feeling. 
The conventions in the various states that met to consider 
the question of ratifying the Constitution, took their 
peculiar form as events from the nature of the end they 
were to subserve. Their adaptation to the end in view 
existed in the thought of the people before the conventions 
existed in fact. We cannot say that the Stamp Act 
Congress was in the minds of British statesmen as an end 
to be accomplished by the passage of the Stamp Act. 
But one cause of the Stamp Act Congress did exist in 
thought before the Congress did in fact, namely, the 
4 



42 General Nature of History 

determination to secure the repeal of the Stamp Act. 
The men who passed the act did not consciously plan to 
arrange the act so that it would produce a congress of 
the colonies, but the men who secured the repeal of the 
act did consciously plan the congress to that end. There 
is, then, a greater degree of adaptation between the 
purpose and its means than between the cause and its 
effect. This greater degree of adaptation often suggests 
a difference in the content of the two classes of events, 
especially on the side of feeling. The event or the series 
of events created by the people for the attainment of some 
cherished end is permeated by an intensity of feeling that 
is impossible in events that come into being more or less 
unconsciously. 

A Means must be Viewed as Taking Part in a Process. 
Without this idea many series of events could hardly be 
organized. How could the individual facts of a military 
campaign become intelligible unless the student can illumi- 
nate them by the design of the head of the army? Of a 
series of events used as means the end must be seen in 
each. This is discovered in two ways: i. By noting 
how the means are adapted to secure the given end. 
This point has just been illustrated. 2. By watching the 
means in the process of working out the end in view. The 
very nature of a means requires that it shall take part 
in a process, otherwise the end could never be actualized. 
If the student fail to witness this process, he fails to 
get at least one-half of the relation which means bears to 
end. It is easy to say or to learn that Hamilton's bank 
aimed to strengthen the national government. It is 
quite another thing to trace the steps by which this end 
was realized. No doubt Hamilton and Washington 
and the leading Federalists saw the bank in the process 
of bringing into real existence a result that once existed 



Processes in Organizing History 4J 

in their thoughts and desires only. The student, to reach 
a correct interpretation, must see this means moving to 
its end just as the men who observed it did. He must 
observe that the creation of the institution called into 
existence, in spite of a most determined opposition, the 
doctrine of implied powers ; that the stock of the bank was 
taken up by business men with great avidity, thus binding 
certain capitalists to the government by ties of interest, 
and giving confidence to other business men; the student 
must see how the presence of uniform bank notes payable 
in specie impressed the people with the wisdom of the 
new plan and the weakness of the old; how the credit of 
the nation in the eyes of foreigners was raised by having 
a responsible financial agent through which it could 
secure loans. And, finally, he must discover that the 
bank's objects were so perfectly secured that its original 
enemies were lessened, its recharter defeated in 1811 by 
but one vote in the lower house, and was carried in 18 16 
by the very party which had formerly opposed it. In 
some such way the student must watch and trace means 
in the very process by which their ends are attained. 
Otherwise a set of means becomes a mere collection of 
mechanically related facts. 

Immediate and Remote Ends. In the process of inter- 
pretation it is helpful to distinguish between immediate 
and remote ends. The difference here is mainly one of 
degree. A remote purpose is one that can be secured by 
the use of many intermediate steps; but the people may 
project a purpose into each step. The people as a whole 
come more easily to the contemplation of immediate than 
remote ends. The probability of speedy attainment seems 
necessary to stimulate the majority of men to enthusi- 
astic devotion to a cause. Only statesmen, philanthrop- 
ists, and reformers seem able to strive with persistent 



44 General Nature of History 

zeal for ends whose fulfillment may belong to the remote 
future. The student must see, therefore, that as a rule 
the more immediate the purpose he finds in an event or 
series, the closer he is getting to the mind and heart of the 
people, as a whole, concerned in the undertaking. But 
while this is true, at the same time he is dealing with 
ends that are to the leaders of a people's destiny only 
so many means in the process of attaining remote and 
more profound subjects. It thus becomes necessary, 
if the student master the thought and feeling of any 
period in its completeness, to compass both the immediate 
and the remote ends and aims that moved the people of 
that time. 

The levying of the tax on tea in 1767 had for its 
immediate end the collection of a revenue on tea and 
other articles. This seemed to most of the people of 
England and America the chief end in view. But by 
the leaders in both countries the raising of a revenue 
was looked upon as a means, while the ultimate end to 
be reached was the submission of America to parliament- 
ary authority. In America the great mass of the people 
had before themselves resistance to the tax by the forma- 
tion of non-importation and non-exportation societies, 
while the leaders in the agitation looked upon these 
efforts as mere means in the accomplishment of a remote 
and more universal end, — the acknowledgment that 
Americans were entitled to the rights of Englishmen. 
To get the full content of this struggle, the student must 
find the motives of all parties engaged in it. 

Danger of Reading Purposes into Effects. A danger 
arises, not so much out of the process of interpretation 
as from the tendency of an unrestrained and untrained 
mind. This danger originates in attributing purposes 
to effects. When causes move toward a given result, 



Processes in Organizing History 45 

it is very easy to read into them effects and motives of 
which the people were entirely innocent. Thus, England 
asserted that the Americans in the time of the Stamp 
Act aimed at independence. The South, in i860, believed 
the majority of the people of the North were abolitionists. 
An individual reads his own suspicions into the acts of 
an opponent. Nothing can be more erroneous than 
this method of reaching conclusions. 

The Higher Aim. In the efforts to attain their ends 
men and nations bring about results which were not 
planned by them, and whose occurrence they could not 
foresee. Men may plan and arrange means to carry 
out definite ends, but effects of an opposite nature often 
result from their efforts. Passion, interest, and selfishness 
may be the motive and the end, yet out of these may 
come results that will bless posterity to the remotest 
generations. Slavery annexed Texas and brought on 
war with Mexico, from which was wrested an imperial 
domain. Yet how different the remote result from the 
immediate aim. Morris' Hegel contains the following on 
this general point: 

"The particular historic event exists by the grace of 
the particular volition of a particular human being; it 
is immediately what the individual intended, and is 
explained by his intention, but by the grace of God 
it acquires a character beyond what was intended, requir- 
ing a deeper and broader explanation. The whole 
interest and thought of the individual may be practi- 
cally confined to his immediate personal aims and 
restricted plans. Beyond them he may not consciously 
see; to aught beside them he may be indifferent. But 
the sequel shows them to have been the material for 
the accomplishment of a plan of history, which is 
none other than the realization on this planet of 



46 General Nature of History 

self-consciousness and self-mastering spiritual existence, 
passing himself through knowledge and control of a 
natural world of which he is the crown, and through 
knowledge and love of a God who is the ultimate ground 
and the eternal goal of all travail both of Nature and 
of Man. Thus God makes even the wrath of man to 
praise him." 

This view makes the whole process of history — all 
its events and all ambitions of men and of nations — 
a means in the working out of the Divine Ideal. 

MATERIAL PRESENTED FOR INTERPRETATION 

Second-hand Material. The facts of history come to 
the student in all stages of interpretation. The ordinary 
narrative text-book mainly confines itself to a description 
of the externals of history while adding some statements 
about ideas and sentiments. If the events are pre- 
sented fully enough, the teacher will have an excellent 
opportunity to train to interpretation by means of 
inferences as to the content of events. But since the 
power to infer specific content from the form of the 
event is limited, there is need of a larger presentation of 
facts in order to obtain a fuller interpretation. These 
facts may sometimes come from the teacher, but better 
from the students by the use of larger works as references. 
The demands of accurate interpretation will not be met 
by turning this reading into a mere hunt for addi- 
tional facts, for each would demand interpretation; but 
since each new fact is an element in the greater event, 
it will make its contribution to the interpretation needed, 
if the right attitude of mind is assumed. But if the 
student is taught by experience to expect that an enum- 
eration of facts will be called for, he will, consciously or 
unconsciously, prepare for it. If, however, additional 



Processes in Organizing History 47 

and richer meaning of the event is pressed for, he will 
fuse his collection of details into some great idea which 
he now sees, perhaps for the first time, to be a portion 
of the content of the great event. 

The point of view in gathering material to aid in 
interpretation is of great consequence, for in still another 
way it may fail of its end. It is often mistakenly 
believed that some unusual value attaches to gathering 
the opinions of the various authorities. In the first 
place, works of similar scope do not vary enough in 
the amount of matter and the peculiarity of opinions to 
make it worth while to search for them. In the second 
place, even if the works are much larger and from a 
different point of view, it is far better for the student 
to feel that he is interpreting history rather than the 
views of various authorities. 

Original Material. Every historical people leaves 
behind, in some form or other, the records of its ideas 
and sentiments, customs and institutions. These records 
are the first-hand material out of which history is made, 
and consist in the main of official documents setting 
forth the ideas and principles of government; of the 
declarations of political parties, or the creeds of religious 
sects; of tables of figures, and of monuments; of the 
correspondence and diaries of men, great and small; of 
orations made on the platform, — in short, of any con- 
temporaneous remains that express the nature and 
tendency of public sentiment. The value of such 
material largely depends upon the position of its author. 
It takes a rare mind to state the position of an opponent 
fairly and fully. Hence, the student should be con- 
stantly on the watch when studying controversial litera- 
ture of any sort. A source may also be wrong because 
its author was unconsciously mistaken in the facts he 



48 General Nature of History 

presents. If, however, he was in a position to speak for 
a community, a party, or the nation, his utterance must 
be of first importance in enabling the student to put 
the right meaning into the facts which he is endeavoring 
to interpret. Of course, the record is of much greater 
value if it embodies officially the institutional ideas of 
the whole community. 

The superiority of this sort of material in the process of 
interpretation may be understood from the following 
considerations: 1. The facts thus presented are first- 
hand — unorganized, and the student is left to contend 
with a real problem with no ready-made solution at 
hand; he must work without the author's aid. Without 
discussing the educational value of this sort of work, it 
is apparent at a glance, that a wide difference separates 
the direct study of the Mayflower Compact from the 
study of a school text's statements about this document. 
2. This direct study brings immediate contact with the 
source of truth concerning the content of the Compact. 
It is possible that texts have been written whose authors 
did not have first-hand access to the material of history, 
but have written from another's interpretation of that 
material. But what of it? Simply this: the student of 
such a text will be still further removed from the real 
source of truth, and like the author, not knowing all the 
concrete facts, or not knowing them exactly as they 
were, may make erroneous interpretations. 3. Even if 
the facts obtained in the above way are correctly inter- 
preted, there is yet something lacking in the effect pro- 
duced, which can be supplied only by applying the 
process of interpretation to original material. In no 
other way, in the study of historical material, may the 
student get deep and realistic conceptions of the life he 
studies — ideas and passions, motives and prejudices, and 



Processes in Organizing History 4Q 

all those subtle influences that go to make up concrete 
public sentiment. Take the examples of interpretation 
given above: how much more easily and correctly could 
the student put the right content into the events connected 
with founding Jamestown if he could read the motives of 
king and company in the charters granted, and could add 
to these the opinions of the settlers. Even the writings 
of John Smith, with all their exaggerations, would give 
meaning and reality to these events, such as could come in 
no other way. Again, how can the student get most easily 
and fully into the minds and hearts of the colonial mer- 
chants, the motives and passions that swayed them when 
organizing the non-importation associations? Evidently 
by reading the addresses sent to king and parliament and 
to the colonial legislatures; by reading the resolutions of 
town meetings in pledging support; by studying the cor- 
respondence between the associations of different towns, 
and by following the newspaper and pamphlet war that 
arose over these organizations and their work. Likewise 
with the struggle over state sovereignty, or any other 
phase of thought which the student tries to reach through 
events. Depth of impression and richness of content will 
always come from this sort of face to face contact with 
a people. 

Original matter may be made to serve, as in the case of 
reference histories, merely as another source of individual 
facts. This defeats its use as a means of interpretation. 
In order to make it serve this function truly, the additional 
matter must be used as a key to the content of the event 
or movement under consideration. The student must not, 
unless he is searching for undiscovered truth, get the idea 
that he is examining records as records to determine their 
historical accuracy. Historical interpretation, and not 
criticism, is his problem. 



50 General Nature of History 

THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF INTERPRETATION 

Nature of the Question. The examination into the 
nature of the process of historical interpretation has 
furnished the basis for an intelligible answer to the problem 
of its educational value. There are two phases to the 
question : one inquires concerning the effect of interpreta- 
tion upon the crude material of history, and the other 
concerning the resulting mental discipline and develop- 
ment. These two phases of the inquiry are intimately 
related, since both at bottom are questions of mental 
experience and should be separated only for convenience 
in discussion. 

Integration and Unification. Interpretation produces, 
on the side of knowledge, an integrated or synthesized 
product. Since the ordinary methods of studying history 
do not accomplish this important educational result, it is 
worth while to bring this historical product into conscious- 
ness and analyze it carefully. Interpretation unifies the 
facts of history because it discovers in them a common 
content, and this subjects them to the only process by 
which knowledge is unified. This is a universal process 
since it is common to the organization of material in 
every realm of knowledge. It is also a process of highest 
educational value on account of the degree of strength 
called forth. No other subject appears at first glance 
less likely to admit of any sort of integration. On 
its external side — the one from which the student first 
sees it — history seems a wilderness of unrelated facts. 
But interpretation, by discovering common ideas, estab- 
lishes order among these facts and connections among 
the larger parts of the subject; and if the process of 
interpretation is carried on till the student finds the com- 
mon content of all the leading facts of history, the result 
is the integration of the subject as a whole. The mind 



Processes in Organizing History 51 

now sees, not isolated and diverse facts, but one great fact, 
— the growth of institutional life. In order to estimate 
the educational value of the historical whole we must 
examine into the nature of the different forms it may 
take. There are two of these: one in which the whole 
is a mere aggregation with its parts of the same nature, 
while in the other form the whole is a principle, or idea, 
and the parts are its phases. There is a vast difference in 
the pedagogical value of these two forms, and in the proc- 
esses by which they are wrought out; and it is of the 
utmost importance that the teacher be able to recognize 
which kind of an historical whole he is creating in the 
student's mind. 

The Mechanical Historical Whole. One of the com- 
monest illustrations in history of this first form of whole 
is that of the time-whole. This is not only common, 
but is very superficial. Ideas grow and events occur 
in time, it is true, but neither are controlled merely by 
the lapse of years. New ideas and new movements do 
not begin with the opening of the year nor cease with the 
closing of a century; hence time- wholes and time-parts 
are more or less artificial. We may think of the expe- 
dition against Lexington and Concord as occurring within 
one day, thus surrounding the event in imagination 
by the limits of a day. The events under this mental 
form are an aggregation, exhibiting no living principle 
which gives them organic union. This event may be 
thrown into time-parts by perceiving that one portion 
of the event occurred before daylight, another in the 
forenoon, and still others in the afternoon. These 
smaller wholes are also artificial, for they do not corres- 
pond to the real parts of the event. The imagination 
may hold a vague picture of the events of American his- 
tory as limited by the two points in time, — 1492 and 



52 General Nature of History 

the present year. This is also a mere aggregation. It 
may be definitely separated by other dates into smaller 
wholes — each time-whole bearing a name which calls 
up a confused jumble of events that have only time 
limits. Such periods of history — if they are entitled to 
so dignified a term — are mere mechanical wholes. 

Another illustration of the aggregate whole, in contrast 
with the organic, is the space-whole. We picture the 
events of the American Revolution as having certain 
place-limits, and in so doing we create, as it were, an 
aggregation — a mass-whole. By picturing some of these 
events as belonging in the North, some in the West, and 
others still in the South, we drop our revolutionary 
space-whole into smaller wholes. These are not, as 
the imagination pictures them, derived from any peculiar 
differences in the events themselves, but are rather 
divisions based on differences in place, into which we 
mechanically force the events. 

It is necessary that the mind should view the events 
of history under the forms of time-wholes and place- 
wholes, but such artificial aggregates can hardly be ends 
in knowledge. It would be dangerously superficial to 
let the relatively mature mind stop with such forms of 
thought or to give much conscious attention to their 
creation. Such work belongs to the stage of immaturity, 
but for the logical stage of thought this should be incidental 
and should result from the mind's struggle with events 
under the higher form of integration. 

The Organic Historical Whole. The other form of 
integrated product is one in which parts are made into a 
whole by the presence of a common idea which permeates 
each part. Such a whole may be called an organic 
one — one in which each part exists for the whole and the 
whole for each part. This whole is not an aggregate but 



Processes in Organizing History $j 

a principle, and its parts are not smaller aggregates, but 
phases of the general truth. Such a whole expresses 
itself outwardly by an aggregation, and each phase of 
the general idea manifests itself in some part of the 
aggregation. 

To see American history as an organic whole requires 
that the student shall find one idea — the growth of institu- 
tional thought and feeling — manifesting itself in all the 
details of that history. This idea constitutes the whole 
of our history and also its phases — growth of local institu- 
tions, union, a national spirit, concentration and expan- 
sion of the present day. These phases are usually 
denominated periods, and are really smaller wholes when 
considered in themselves. Periods in history are such 
for the student by virtue of the process of integration 
which follows from interpretation having discovered the 
great dominant phase of growth which characterizes the 
period and which furnishes the content of leading events 
of the time. The periods so viewed are organic wholes. 
They must be such in order to give the highest form of 
knowledge and the greatest degree of discipline. 

Integration a Synthetic Process. Fuller meaning can 
be given to the educational value of integration in history 
if we turn from the historical whole to its process, com- 
parison. Integration is a synthetic process. Constructive 
mental processes in history, as in all subjects, are based 
upon the discovery of resemblances in the facts interpreted. 
The process of interpretation which results in integration 
is carried on by the special process of comparison, — the 
process by which the mind discovers resemblances. 
Synthesis, or comparison, then, is the mental instrument 
by which historical wholes are wrought out. 

In order to produce the best results, comparison should 
become a conscious instrument in the hands of the student. 



54 General Nature of History 

When he feels its value by actual conscious experience, 
he becomes self -directive. Nothing frees him sooner 
from the monotony and drudgery of the history text 
than a conscious search for likenesses. These are not 
often formally expressed in school histories, so that this 
work may be performed by the student under the 
stimulus of a direction or question put by the teacher. 
Such work stimulates to real discovery; the student 
feels that he is getting more than is expressed in the 
book he uses, and this, too, without the direct aid 
of the teacher. 

When the student forms a taste for searching after 
resemblances, the teacher will have no trouble at all in 
leading him into the habit of enlarging his comparisons by 
searching the work of more than one author. It must 
be kept in mind here that this extension of the process is 
not for the purpose of being able to state the particular 
views of each author, but rather that the student may 
have a deeper and fuller knowledge of the facts under 
investigation. 

Integration through Comparison Simplifies Historical 
Knowledge. This does not mean simplification by a 
reduction in the number and complexity of its facts, but, 
as hinted several times above, by discovering unity in 
the facts. This is the process by which the student grows 
into the conviction that, comparatively, only a few great 
ideas have battled for mastery in the field of history; 
it convinces him that new and strange events may be in 
the new embodiment of old ideas. 

Division and its Uses. It is a law of knowledge that 
whatever features enter into subjective truth must have 
their correspondence in objective truth. In no other 
place is this principle more often violated than in making 
divisions in history. Perhaps the reason is found in the 



Processes in Organizing History 53 

fact that such divisions are made instead of discovered. 

In our analysis of the nature of history it was seen that 
in obedience to the law of continuity there are no gaps or 
breaks in the institutional life of a people, but that con- 
tinuous and connected growth is its characteristic feature. 
It was discovered that the phenomena of history are 
subject to another principle of development, — differentia- 
tion. It is the movement of institutional life under this 
law that enables the student to discover progressive 
changes in the line of growth and thus mark transitions 
from one phase of thought and feeling to another. The 
operation of this law enables him to discover in the midst 
of some dominating movement different tendencies which 
may, under favoring conditions, become in turn the 
feature of some other period. 

When, by interpretation, it is noted that certain periods 
of time are marked by peculiar phases of life, the basis 
for a division into parts is found. If this is to be done 
consciously for purposes of organization, three or four 
suggestions must be followed: (1) as already intimated, 
the parts are to be discovered, not made, — must be found 
in, rather than fitted on, the subject ; (2) that if coordinate 
and logical parts are to be found, there must be but one 
basis of division for any set of parts and that basis must 
be the phase of growth that integrates the facts of the 
period, or some phase of this integrating idea; (3) the 
basis of division ought to be a fundamental one, that 
is, some phase of institutional growth, rather than portions 
of time, parts of country, or series of events. 

It is quite the custom to divide history into parts on the 
basis of differences in time, thus marking centuries, half- 
centuries, and decades in the subject. But these are not 
so much divisions in the thing studied as divisions in the 
calendar. It is evident to the student of life that the end 



j6 General Nature of History 

of one century and the beginning of another no more mark 
the end of one movement and the beginning of another 
than any year within the hundred does. Life moves 
right on over decades and centuries. — does not stop to take 
a holiday the first day of each new year as is implied in 
dividing and classifying events by years. Such divisions 
may be convenient when speaking of history in a general 
way, but they certainly do not in themselves reveal or 
designate anything fundamental in the life studied. 
But if the student need a framework to lean upon, as little 
harm will come from a chronological division as from any 
other artificial means. 

Fundamental Divisions in American History. The 
same objection holds against geographical divisions. 
These may seem to be convenient, but are generally 
superficial, misleading, and often give little insight into 
the nature of the thing studied. The familiar division 
of our history into discoveries, settlements, intercolonial 
wars, war of the revolution, confederation, administrations, 
and so on, gives parts that are not entirely artificial, but 
are based on differences in events; they are somewhat 
superficial, for they deal with the externals of history 
rather than with history itself. This basis of separation 
is not fundamental enough to be helpful in the process of 
organization. If we drop below the surface-play of events 
to the growth of institutional ideas — the principle on which 
the subject as a whole is integrated — and ask what are the 
great differentiating features of American institutional 
life, it will be found that between 1607 and the present 
there are four great forms of development: (1) the 
growth of European ideas into local institutions; (2) 
the growth of local institutions into the form of a nation; 
(3) the development of the spirit of nationality; (4) 
the consolidation in national affairs. This division, to 



Processes in Organizing History 57 

be true, must meet all the requirements of organization. 

Why History is Separated into its Parts. The process 
of division is not an end in itself, but a means to more 
concrete interpretation and more minute integration. 
History is separated into its parts, not only because there 
is a basis for separation in the thing itself, but, pedagog- 
ically, because it enables the mind to attack the problem 
of historical organization in detail. This idea of division 
as a means to more concrete study will be amply illustrated 
in the application of the principle of organization to the 
various periods and sub-periods. 

Division an Analytic Process. The process of divi- 
sion is an analytic one, so far as the subject of history is 
concerned. In this respect division is the opposite of 
integration in its product and in its process. Hence, the 
discovery of differences in the act of interpretation trains 
the mind to make careful discriminations. To get the 
exact phase of public sentiment demands a most dis- 
criminating judgment. Interpretation can be made to 
do this if the teacher knows the content of the events 
interpreted and presses the student for it. 

It is difficult to see how this analytic study can be pushed 
too far if there goes at each new step a new act of syn- 
thesis — the making of a new integration. But when the 
end is forgotten, and especially when the process is applied 
to the mere form of historical material, events and other 
accidental features, then there is danger ahead. 

Many of the so-called "methods" of teaching history, 
such as the topical, the outline, the diagram, the exponen- 
tial, and the brace method, though highly prized by 
some, are merely based on the relations of whole and 
part. A student may outline or diagram a lesson in history 
as presented by some author, and know almost nothing 
about it. The most imposing outlines or diagrams of 



58 General Nature of History 

history are those made independent of any real basis of 
division, while to be of any teaching value, they must 
adhere to some fundamental idea as a basis, which usually 
renders them insignificant in appearance. It should 
not be forgotten by the diagram-maker that the student 
must understand the relations in history before he can 
make a logical diagram, and that after these relations 
are once mastered, he has comparatively little use for 
such artificial representations. Again, the outline and 
diagram represent historical material as statical, while 
in truth, it is predominantly dynamical. On still another 
count these artificial systems are found wanting: They 
represent on the blackboard or in the notebook a thing 
that has no corresponding existence in fact; often the 
pupil carries away only a picture of the subject in two 
dimensions — a picture utterly unlike, in form and feature, 
the facts studied ; and the only redeeming feature about it 
is that the pupil will lose his false conception as soon as 
the artificial framework passes away. Finally, these 
systems at best are based upon but two out of the many 
categorical relations. Diagrams are a means, but not 
a means of very high order. 

Interpretation Develops the Historical Judgment. In 
the discussion upon the nature of history, it was discovered 
that the acts of individuals or of nations are adapted to 
express the thought and feeling that give rise to them. 
The imagination sets men and nations before the judg- 
ment in the process of acting. From what they are 
seen to do and from the way in which it is done, the judg- 
ment reaches its conclusions as to the thoughts and feel- 
ings, ideas and emotions that give rise to the events and, 
therefore, give meaning to them. This act of judg- 
ment is the interpretative act proper, and the faculty 
that puts it forth may be designated as the historical 



Processes in Organizing History 5P 

judgment. History is entitled to give name to this 
phase of the judgment's activity from the fact that 
history almost, if not entirely, alone stimulates and 
develops it. It would seem that it is reserved for history 
to confer upon the mind the peculiar and very important 
faculty of reading thought and feeling through deeds. 

The training which gives the power to reach the plans 
and purposes of men through their acts has not only high 
pedagogical value, but also has very great practical value. 
Progress in historical study is largely dependent upon the 
growing skill with which the student can infer accurately 
and rapidly the content of events as they pass in quick 
review before the imagination. The power to do this 
has direct and important bearing on the affairs of every- 
day life. What else are men doing who meet each other 
in the various walks of life? Men contend or men coop- 
erate in the conduct of all the institutions of human 
society. But to do either well — intelligently and success- 
fully — they must penetrate to ideas, motives, and plans 
through the deeds of one another. How poorly we judge 
of the conduct of men and of society ! There is need that 
teachers of history recognize and utilize the capacity 
in their own subject to confer upon the student this pecu- 
liar guiding power. 

The exercise of the historical judgment in the process 
of interpretation fosters the formation of a most valuable 
habit of mind, — the habit of questioning appearances. 
This is not only an important historical habit, but it is 
of great thinking value to the non-historical student, for 
its tendency is to force the mind to look through appear- 
ances to reality — to look through phenomena to the laws 
of phenomena. Every act of historical interpretation 
gives the mind this tendency. 

Emotional Results of Interpretation. The preceding 



60 General Nature of History 

discussion of the educational value of interpretation has 
considered only intellectual processes and products. 
But some of the most valuable results of historical study- 
pertain to the stimulus of emotions and the development 
of character. In the first place, the process of inter- 
pretation in history gives the rational basis for interest 
in the subject. It brings the mind of the student into 
direct contact with mind as it manifests itself in history; 
this is life in touch with life. The life of the student 
responds to the touch of the life of other men in other 
times. This is inevitable, for, as he touches the whole 
round of human experience as it is reflected in events, 
he will find much that is closely akin to his own. It 
seems strange, therefore, that any one should dislike 
history. About the only way to prevent a love of history 
from arising in the normal mind is to refuse it the 
opportunity of free and sympathetic contact with life — 
refuse to allow it to enter into the minds and hearts 
that lived and struggled as it lives and struggles. This 
is a pedagogical consideration of much importance when 
it is remembered that many pupils, and students, even, 
not only do not like history, but have a positive dislike 
for it. There are many artificial means used to create 
an interest in history, but the results are usually delusive 
because their resemblance to the real thing makes their 
detection very difficult. The pupil, and even the stu- 
dent, may be apparently interested in history because 
of an admiration for the teacher, or a desire to make 
a high record, or to stand well in the estimation of the 
class, or to be an honor student, or because of some 
taking device that the teacher, for the time being, 
employs to revive the lagging interest. None of these 
reaches the test of true interest; each represents a form 
of interest that deludes teachers, pupils, and students. 



Processes in Organizing History 61 

Interest in the thing for its own sake is the only genuine 
interest. Proper interpretation will give this. 

In the second place, the intimate contact with the life 
of the past gained through a proper interpretation of 
events has a still deeper significance in its relation to 
the emotions, — it is the basis of an intelligent patriotism. 
In this sort of work the student lives over again the 
life he studies. He sympathizes with and admires 
men, parties, and nations in their struggles for a just 
cause. His heart warms to a noble idea or sentiment 
as he traces its conflict with prejudice and custom. On 
the other hand, he comes to despise the unjust cause 
and the efforts of men who live under the impulse of 
unworthy ideals and employ ignoble means. He is 
impressed with the idea that after a time the right comes 
to prevail, and that men and nations who turn their 
backs upon a good cause and deliberately choose the 
baser course will, in the end, pay dearly for their choice. 
He thus comes to feel a deep and abiding love for his 
own country and also a profound respect for the struggles 
of noble men of all lands. 

A third feeling should develop from a study of his- 
tory, — a love of truth. It is no small task to lead the 
student to draw correct conclusions and to prefer them 
to incorrect ones. It is so easy to make sweeping infer- 
ences from one instance. Besides, over the conflicts of 
ideas, ambitions, and interests it is difficult for the young 
to avoid being partisans. But in the hands of a skillful 
teacher there is no better subject to train for a love of 
truth than is history. 

Ethical Value of Interpretation. When the student 
passes from the study of causes to the study of purposes 
and motives, his whole attitude of mind changes. From 
the very nature of the case, he is challenged to pass 



62 General Nature of History 

judgment on the actors in the drama of passing events. 
He judges of their ability and sagacity in forming designs 
and in selecting means for their realization. In the 
purchase of Louisiana the student will say that Jefferson 
shows himself to be a farseeing and disinterested states- 
man, but that in his plan of coast defence he exhibits 
great ignorance of methods of war. In a similar way 
he will judge the statesmanship, on its intellectual 
side, of all the great and small men who have figured 
in our history. But on another side, and one having 
very intimate connection, as we have seen, with the 
question of right interpretation in history, the student 
is still more persistent in his determination to arraign 
men and measures before the bar of judgment; I mean 
the moral qualities of the motives which move men 
to action. In this field he would praise Washington 
and La Fayette for disinterested devotion to the cause 
of liberty, while he would have condemnation for the 
selfishness of Gates and Lee. He would extol John 
Quincy Adams for fidelity to principle both as president 
and as congressman. His admiration for Webster may 
turn to regret when he listens to the "Seventh of March" 
speech. Just as in the conduct of individuals, he will 
commend or condemn political parties for the motives 
that sway them. 

This process may go on in the student more or less 
unconsciously. At least it may go on without the knowl- 
edge of the teacher, unless,by the character of the interpre- 
tation he stimulates the student to give frequent expres- 
sion to his conclusions in this field. The fact that the 
student will reach such conclusions is a sufficient reason 
why the teacher should guide him in the process, — guide, 
but not dominate, his inferences. No other phase of histor- 
ical interpretation opens up so widely the opportunity 



Processes in Organizing History 63 

for mistakes in judgment, even where the student is free 
from prejudice. He needs here, if ever, the guiding hand 
of one who has sought truth for its own sake — and 
found it. This guidance finds its best work, not in giving 
the student bald conclusions which he must accept because 
the teacher is supposed to be better authority than he is, 
but in leading him to gather sufficient data to make his 
own inferences reasonably true. 

The reaction of this phase of study on the student is 
very profound but also very subtle. It is sometimes good 
and sometimes bad. The study of generous, broad- 
minded, unselfish conduct is ennobling in a high degree, 
but the student must come into contact with conduct of 
another sort. How rudely is he sometimes shocked when 
a great character whom he very much admires goes 
astray and devotes the energy of his mighty genius to 
an unworthy cause. The student in this formative period 
of mind sets his ideal high, and to find in men he admires 
any serious departure from this tends to shake his con- 
fidence in humanity. This is a result that certainly 
ought not to come about, and it need not. It ought not to 
come about because it is usually based on insufficient 
historical data, and is, therefore, not true to history. 
Again, it ought not to come about for the reason of its 
disastrous influence upon the ethical life of the student — 
it may make him cynical and pessimistic. The teacher 
may direct the interpretation of events in the light of 
purposes and motives so that the whole truth of history 
may be revealed and its ethical message to the student 
may not be perverted. 

How to Preserve Just Standards of Judgments. Three 
things can the teacher do to prevent false interpretation : 
1. He can show the student that unfair judgments may 
be reached by projecting his own standard and that of 



64 General Nature of History 

the present into the past and by trying men and motives 
by them. The student has been taught the highest 
respect for the Constitution, and when he reads the 
story of Patrick Henry's vehement opposition to its 
ratification, the reputation, and perhaps the character, of 
that patriot falls in his estimation. He finds it difficult 
to reconcile Washington's love of liberty and his sacrifices 
for it, with his owning slaves ; and even more so in the case 
of Henry Clay. But it is evident that in each instance the 
student is trying these men in the light of his own times. 
The teacher's duty is to make him truer to history, and 
then he will be truer to these men and truer to himself. 
2. A second means may be used to preserve the ethical 
equilibrium of the student, — a judicious emphasis upon 
the lives of men who have been moral heroes, and there are 
plenty of such lives. The student, like the public in which 
he lives, takes it for granted that great men do good deeds, 
and so he is not particularly struck with the everyday life 
of good men as we have their acts in history. For the 
truth of history, then, the student should have his atten- 
tion consciously directed to the influence of good men on 
the growth of our institutions. This will not be untrue to 
history, for the influence of the Arnolds, the Burrs, and 
others who have tried to harm the nation for personal ends, 
has been, comparatively speaking, very slight indeed. 3. 
We noticed in another paragraph that there is a tide in 
the affairs of men that seems not always to be of their 
own planning. It rides over their narrow, sordid, selfish 
purposes and makes for ends and results far beyond 
human comprehension. Or it may be a mighty wave of 
chastening public sentiment that rises and overturns the 
schemes of men, thus reaching some great end in the way 
of which men and parties stood. The selfishness and greed 
of men and parties have thus been punished by what 



Processes in Organizing History 65 

seemed an avenging public opinion. The American 
Revolution, the annihilation of the Whig party, and the 
defeat of the Democrats between 1854 and i860, and the 
destruction of slavery by the proclamation of the son of a 
poor white in order to suppress armed resistance, are 
instances of great movements to secure great ends. These, 
and others like them, can give the student confidence in the 
ultimate triumph of right over wrong. They will also 
give him confidence in the ability of the American people 
to overthrow organized selfishness in whatever form it 
may appear. 

The Process of Coordination 
nature of the process 

The Basis of Coordination. It has been said that the 
proper solution of the problem of the organization of 
knowledge in general, and of historical knowledge in 
particular, depends on discovering and utilizing the rela- 
tions which exist between the particular facts and the 
fundamental principle of the subject. 

Investigation will show that the facts of a subject 
embody its fundamental principle in various ways 
and in varying degrees. Translated into the language of 
history, this means that different events embody the 
growth of institutional ideas in different degrees. In 
carrying on the process of historical interpretation, the 
process by which the mind searches for the growth of 
ideas in events, the student is frequently struck by the 
richness with which some events, and the barrenness 
with which others, reveal the thoughts and feelings of 
the people. 

Theoretical and Practical Need. In order to organize 
historical knowledge then, something more is necessary 

5 



66 General Nature of History 

than mere interpretation, however valuable that is or how- 
ever perfectly it may be done. It is necessary, therefore, 
for the teacher to pass judgment upon the relative value 
of the facts or events to be interpreted. The practical 
need of this is very apparent in a field like history, where 
the facts are almost limitless in number, and where 
they range through all degrees of complexity. The 
life of one man like that of Franklin has almost innu- 
merable incidents attending its course. The history of a 
single state numbers its facts almost without limit. What, 
then, must be true of the amount of matter that may be 
handled in dealing with the life of a great nation? There 
must be selection and emphasis here, or history must be 
given over as a disorganized and lawless subject. 

There are few teachers who have not felt the pressing 
need of some means of selecting from the vast amount of 
matter to be found in text-books and libraries that particu- 
lar portion having the highest historical significance. The 
small amount of time devoted to history, compared with 
the vast extent of the field, makes the question of selection 
and emphasis a really "practical" question. It comes 
every day alike to the teacher in the grades and the 
professor in the university. For the sake of truth and for 
the sake of the learner, each must make an attempt to 
solve the problem. 

The ordinary way is to trust the text-books, but can 
they be trusted to settle the question of the relative value 
of events ? Not many years ago a very popular text-book 
on United States history was issued that gave one-half 
of its pages to our history before the Revolution. If the 
teacher trust this text-book, her pupils may spend as 
much time on our history before 1760 as after it. The 
same text gives many pages to John Smith's exploits, 
and a very few lines to the establishment of representative 



Processes in Organizing History 6j 

government in Virginia by Governor Yeardly, — an event 
full of destiny. King Philip's war in New England and 
the Body of Liberties established by Massachusetts in 
1 64 1 are treated after a similar fashion; about two hun- 
dred lines are given to the former and less than a dozen 
lines to the latter. A number of other text-books, while 
giving attention to King Philip's war, do not even men- 
tion the Body of Liberties, nor the early efforts of the 
Connecticut settlers at constitution-making. Illustrations 
may be multiplied to show that authors of school histories-, 
as a rule, have no well-defined principle of selection or 
emphasis, and that the teacher who is guided by them 
alone will often go astray. Of course, we ought not to 
infer that an author in all cases expects teachers to value 
his material by the amount of space given it. In many 
cases, from the nature of the facts, the amount of space 
given to their narration must be out of proportion to their 
significance. But even if the teacher could trust the 
author to select and distribute his material according to 
its value, he would still need, in order to be free, a standard 
by which he could test the value of the material for him- 
self. There is no growth for the teacher except through 
freedom conferred by working under the guidance of 
principles. 

The Principle Stated. All these considerations, theo- 
retical and practical, demand that the principle of selection 
and emphasis in history be a fundamental one, — one to 
which the student and teacher may appeal with some de- 
gree of certainty. This standard must not be an acci- 
dental one; it must not be set up by the whim of any 
person and be changed with a change of teachers, but must 
be one derived from the very essence of history itself — 
from the relations that exist between its facts and its 
organizing principle. Since the events of history express 



68 General Nature of History 

the growth of institutional life in different degrees, it 
must follow that they will have historical value in propor- 
tion to their content. We may safely set up the growth 
of institutional life as the standard for making this test 
of historical value. To state the principle somewhat 
formally, it may be said that that event, series, or period 
has the highest historical value which reveals most fully 
the people's institutional thought and feeling. Such a 
fact takes highest rank. On the other hand, that event, 
series, or period which yields the least historical signi- 
ficance will take lowest rank in the subject. 

Suggestions as to Application. There are two phases 
of this question of historical selection. The teacher, like 
the author, must first choose between the facts to be 
omitted and those to be taken. In the second place, 
a careful measure of the relative value of those selected 
must be made. The utility of our standard of selection 
is apparent from the fact that we must appeal to it in 
making our choice in each case. Why should any fact 
in American history be omitted and another fact selected? 
The only logical answer is that the fact rejected does not 
sufficiently reveal to the student the growth of institu- 
tional life. Why should De Soto's expedition form a 
part of a course in American history, while a hundred 
other Spanish explorers and their work go unnamed? 
The only reason is that the work of De Soto had a more 
intimate connection with our institutions than had those 
omitted. If one had to choose between the work of 
George Rogers Clark and that of Daniel Boone, in the 
Revolution, on what basis should the choice be made? 
Whose work contributed most to the development of the 
American institutions, would be the question to put. The 
answer to this question is the answer to the other question. 
Problems like these come to the teacher when he attempts 



Processes in Organizing History 6g 

to make his own working outline, or when, for the lack of 
time, he must omit portions of this history text or spend 
little time upon them. The rational answer in each case 
is to be found in the relation of the fact to the funda- 
mental or organizing principle. 

It is this phase of the question which presses con- 
stantly upon the teacher and the one that has most to do 
with the distribution of the pupil's time and energy. This 
question has been variously designated: some call it 
" historical emphasis," others, "historical perspective." 
Whatever the name, the principle is the same, and in 
its application has to do with deciding between the rela- 
tive value of periods or series of events, between the 
members of the series, and between features of each event. 

In dealing with the relative value of these forms of his- 
torical facts, the teacher can save time for the student by 
deciding in a general way the relative amount of study 
that is to be given to the various periods of history. 
After this is disposed of, the next question of relative 
values arises from within the periods. Each period, it 
will be learned, is marked by a dominant movement in 
institutional growth. This dominant movement fur- 
nishes the leading content for interpretation, and also the 
standard for the relative value of the various series of 
events that are found within the period. The next prob- 
lem relates to the relative value of the various series con- 
stituting the period; these express in different degrees the 
fundamental idea of the period, hence have different 
historical values and are, therefore, entitled to attention 
and emphasis in like proportion. But the problem of 
relative values has at least one more important phase: 
Which is the greatest and which is the least event in the 
series? A series is such by virtue of a dominant idea, 
which idea is either some phase of the dominant idea of 



/o General Nature of History 

the period or is vitally connected with it. How the events 
of the series embody this sub-idea is the test of their 
respective values. 

Application to Time and Place. It is desirable, if not 
necessary, here to call attention to the value of certain 
external features of events. Two in particular, time and 
place, or chronology and geography, ought to be 
carefully considered. As ordinarily viewed these two 
features or accompaniments of events pertain rather to 
the external side than to the content of events. When 
so viewed they can have little or no historical value. 
This ought to suggest, to teachers of dates and dots on 
maps, that there is possibly something wrong in the ven- 
erable custom of committing to memory long lists of 
dates and places of events. Let us search for a rational 
basis for judging the place of chronology and geography 
in history. 

Growth in institutional ideas is, as we have seen, along 
lines parallel in time. Events are located along these lines 
of growth at intervals of time, this location serving as a 
means of marking off the stages in the development of 
ideas. It facilitates interpretation to know the place in 
time an event occupies along this line. Its location, 
however, includes more than knowing its mere date; for 
we may know the date of an event as an abstract and 
empty thing, out of all relation to other events and there- 
fore miss all suggestion as to its content. The fixing of 
an event in time must be by associating with it events 
and phases of thought that precede, succeed, and are 
simultaneous in time. It often occurs that the associa- 
tion of historical facts in the order of time suggests that 
they may be more fundamentally related as cause and 
effect, or that there may be a similarity of significance. 
Whenever time associations are made among such facts 



Processes in Organizing History yi 

it must be remembered that it is never for the sake of 
the date. This fact rightly understood will prevent the 
pernicious practice of committing to memory long lists 
of dates with only the name of the event attached. 

Institutions must grow somewhere, and the place in 
which a people's life develops exerts a powerful influence 
over it. Not only do climatic influences modify man's 
physical activity, but his spiritual as well; in one region 
physical conditions favor reflection while in another they 
stimulate sensuous enjoyments. The physical differences 
between the North and the South partly caused their wide 
contrasts in institutional life, and through the latter the 
Civil War. Differences in occupations are largely based 
on variations in physical conditions; conflicting interests 
may thus arise that show their influence on legislation. 
The distribution of relief forms and waterways may deter- 
mine the direction of trade and the movement of armies. 
The Hudson River and Lake Champlain region determined 
the direction and plan of more than one campaign in both 
the Inter-colonial and the Revolutionary wars. The same 
thing is true in a greater degree, of the rivers Mississippi, 
Ohio, Potomac, and James, in our Civil War. It is clear 
from these facts that the relation of place, like that of 
time, is a key to knowledge under higher relations. But 
if the place of an event, including its surroundings, cannot 
be seen as an active agent transforming ideas and pro- 
ducing events, then its historical value is very small 
indeed. The bald location on the map of all the places 
named in the text is almost useless work. In other 
words, portions of the map are located instead of events 
in their real geographical relations. This gives the imag- 
ination no aid in picturing the physical surrounding of 
things, and has little historical value. The map is a means 
in history, whether furnished by the book or made by the 



72 General Nature of History 

pupil. The historical map may be made by the student, 
if in the making he gains something of historical value. 
It should be accurate, rather than beautiful; the end 
attained is an historical idea and not an aesthetic emotion. 

Results of the Application. There must be great econ- 
omy in time and energy when the teacher has decided in 
advance the most important period, the most important 
series of events in the period, and the most important 
event in the series. Not only is there great economy in 
time and energy, but what an immeasurable difference 
between the student's conception of the subject under 
this plan, and his hazy and bewildered state of mind 
under the old plan of "going it blind"! The result of 
testing periods, parts of periods, and events in this way 
will lead to the discovery of a number of things: 

i. That the value of a period or other series of events 
is not determined by the length of time covered. 

2. That some events and series are of such a character 
and the manner of treatment by certain authors is such 
that a single reading is all they merit; they may be put 
in to fill out the picture or to make the connection between 
more important events. 

3 . That a single fact may be so close to the people's life 
that a series of lessons may be spent on it. 

4. That this distribution of time and effort will break 
up the uniform and featureless whole given by the simple 
process of interpretation, and will create a body of knowl- 
edge full of variety, each fact occupying the rank deter- 
mined by its own value. 

EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF COORDINATION 

We now come to the pedagogical significance of the 
process of judging relative values. It has already been 
stated that there are at least two phases to this question: 



Processes in Organizing History 73 

one of knowledge, the other of discipline. There is possibly 
another phase by inference from these two, namely, what 
must be done by the teacher in the light of the answer to 
the other two. This has been partly discussed above. 

Effect as to Knowledge. It has already been made clear 
that, for complete organization, the material given in inter- 
pretation must then be coordinated and subordinated, — 
that is, arranged in a system on the basis of its historical 
significance. This result removes the great body of histori- 
cal facts another step from chaos, the first being unity and 
diversity through interpretation; now, they are made to 
assume rank in the subject in light of the place they hold 
in the life of a people. In most subjects the parts and 
particular facts have a place and rank that is fairly well 
recognized. Not so in the subject of history. While it 
may never be possible to rank the facts of history as 
perfectly as those of many other subjects, yet the loose 
and reckless manner in which they are often handled by 
teachers shows that a reasonable attempt ought to be 
made in this direction. Perhaps not much effort in rank- 
ing the facts of history has been made because of the 
nature of the facts; but mainly, it is because no coordi- 
nating and subordinating principle has been generally 
accepted. Why has no principle been generally accepted? 
Chiefly, I think, because students have not clearly differ- 
entiated between the form and the content of history. 

There is another way in which this process affects the 
student's knowledge, that is, by adding to it. When the 
conclusion is reached that the battle of Lexington is a more 
important event than the storming of Stony Point — one 
of the most brilliant military events of the Revolutionary 
War — the student has added to his stock a fact more 
valuable than if he had added a dozen mere incidents 
connected with these events. Many pupils in the public 



74 General Nature of History 

schools and students in higher institutions can state inter- 
esting things connected with the purchase of Louisiana and 
Florida; but, knowing little about their relative impor- 
tance, cannot explain which produced the greater effect 
upon the dominant movement of that period. Would it 
not really be adding to their knowledge of history to dis- 
cover which produced the greater result upon the life and 
the thought of the time? 

Confers Power to properly Judge Contemporaneous 
Events. On the side of discipline a far greater result is 
produced by training in the ranking of men and events. 
We have seen how interpretation gives ability and skill in 
getting into the content of contemporaneous events. 
Now, experience in determining the relative rank of past 
events ought to confer the power and skill to estimate 
similar present facts at their true value. It is not an 
easy thing to estimate present movements at their true 
value, and few there are who do not need more of this 
sort of ability — few who do not make grave mistakes for 
lack of power to balance men and their conduct, parties 
and their policies, institutions and their ends and tend- 
encies. People are influenced by new movements 
because they are new; some become absorbed in a small, 
quiet movement with a great principle behind it, while 
others are caught and held by great noisy commotions 
with little or nothing of principle. Others allow a single 
idea to fill their attention and absorb their energy to the 
exclusion of all other ideas, until they come to see it 
out of its true proportion. All other ideas and move- 
ments come to such men through the wrong end of the 
telescope. It would seem, therefore, that the power culti- 
vated by the process of coordinating and subordinating 
the facts of history — balancing events, men, and motives 
— is of great practical value in the contest of life. 



ORGANIZATION OF THE PHASES OF* 
AMERICAN HISTORY 

PERIOD OF THE GROWTH OF LOCAL 
INSTITUTIONS 

The Relation of Discoveries and Explorations 
to this Period 

Not a Coordinate Phase of Institutional Life. The 

separation of our history into four great phases does not 
include as one of its parts the discoveries and explorations 
that opened up America to Europe. A division made 
by searching for differences in the growth of institutional 
ideas cannot recognize these events as constituting one 
of its organic parts. They do not mark a movement in 
the thought of the American people, for the ideas that 
called these events into being were European and hence 
belong primarily to the domain of general history, or to 
the history of their respective nations. It does not 
follow, however, that, with the fundamental basis devel- 
oped in the preceding discussions, there is no place for 
these events in our history. On the contrary, their rank 
in the subject is determined by the same method that 
fixes the rank of any other series of events. If they touch 
the development of American institutions, past or present, 
in any appreciable way, then they have some rank, but 
what particular rank must be determined by the amount 
and kind of this connection. 

Their True Connection and Rank. In general it may 
be said that the discoveries and explorations of the dif- 
ferent European nations tended to fix the place where 
each planted its institutions in America. The place where 

75 



yd Organization of American History 

ideas and institutions grow influences their development. 
Climate touches human life in many ways, determining 
animal and plant life, affecting the production of food, 
clothing, and shelter, and influencing population and social 
customs. The presence or absence of a fertile soil, rich 
mineral deposits, and navigable lakes and rivers give bent 
to industrial life, and through this reaches into the domain 
of politics. For these reasons the student must take some 
account of the place where a new France, a new Spain, and 
a new England are to grow and do battle for existence. 

For another reason the place of discoveries and explora- 
tions must be noted : the claims to ownership of soil were 
based upon these events, and out of overlapping claims 
came much of colonial history that shaped the course of 
future events. Our organizing principle makes us say, 
then, that the process of interpretation for a voyage of dis- 
covery and exploration consists in showing how it tended 
to fix a place for the growth of a group of institutions. 
This same principle makes it clear that the expedition 
having most to do in fixing or extending this region is the 
most important one in the series belonging to a given 
nation. To put it in another way, it may be said that the 
teacher, in order to direct his pupils intelligently, must 
know two things about each event in such series : (i) what 
the event contributed to the claims of the nation sending 
out the expedition; (2) how the work of this expedition 
compares with that accomplished by others. 

In settling these points, questions will arise in the 
teacher's mind: Shall the student be permitted to learn 
only the bare facts about the voyage of Ponce de Leon? 
Our organizing principle does not exclude any knowledge 
of this voyage that enables one to understand how it 
tended to confirm or extend Spanish claims. But whether 
the Fountain of Youth ought to be studied in connection 



Growth of Local Institutions yy 

with this voyage is determined by its bearing on the 
confirmation or extension of Spanish claims and the great 
number of interesting incidents connected with this 
expedition . 

What ought to be done with the great expedition of De 
Soto? The organizing idea of history forces each teacher 
to ask this question: Did De Soto's expedition touch 
directly or indirectly the growth of institutions? The 
answer is that it did so, very remotely, by confirming and 
extending Spanish claims to territory in North America. 
Very well, then, this principle directs us to study this 
expedition until the extent of De Soto's contribution is 
determined. But what about De Soto's wife, left as Gov- 
ernor of Cuba, and the great number of interesting 
incidents connected with this expedition? If they bear 
on the solution of this problem, then they must be noticed 
— it may be, only noticed. The same principle will apply 
to the voyages of other nations that planted institutions 
in North America. 

From the nature of the case, English explorations have 
a closer connection with American history than do those 
of other nations. Our institutions have grown out of 
English ideas, in the main, and in the place which English 
voyages prepared for them. For this reason, English 
voyages should be studied with more care than those of 
other nations. There seems to be an exception in the case 
of the first voyage of Columbus. His first voyage, historic- 
ally speaking, was a world- voyage having much significance 
for other nations as well as for Spain. Hence, it must 
occupy high rank in this preliminary part of our history. 

From the fact that the discoveries and explorations, 
taken as a whole, have, comparatively, a small influence 
on the growth of our institutions, they cannot be erected 
into a coordinate part of the history of the United States ; 



J 8 Organization of American History 

but because of their immediate relation to the localization 
and planting of European ideas in America, they of right 
constitute an introduction to the period that deals with the 
transformation of European ideas into colonial institutions. 
Non-American History. Attention has been called to 
the fact that not all the voyages to America belong in the 
category of American history. In fact, much time may 
be .easily wasted in a study of events that are really no 
part of American history unless one takes a very mechan- 
ical view of history, and holds that all events occurring 
in America form a part of its history. This would make 
the history of the North American Indians a part of Amer- 
ican history, but certainly no one will say that in any true 
historical sense did Indian institutions flow into or become 
a part of American institutions. And yet it is no uncom- 
mon thing for a teacher to be found earnestly at work 
teaching the history of the North American Indian with- 
out any conception of the proper limit of such study. The 
same is true of Mound-builders and the theories of their 
origin and modes of life. Nor do the ordinary texts give 
much guidance. None will deny the deep interest that 
attaches to these subjects, but the charm of interest cannot 
be the basis for passing judgment upon their position as 
facts in American history. There is but one test, the rela- 
tion which they sustain to the growth of American institu- 
tions. The extent to which they influenced our history is 
the true measure of their value. When any fact is taught 
about explorations, Indians, or Mound-builders, which has 
no connection with our institutional life, such a fact is in 
the field of non-American history. 

The Period as a Whole 

What Constitutes a Period. It has just been shown 
that discoveries and explorations do not constitute a 



Growth of Local Institutions jg 

period. What constitutes one may be inferred partly 
from preceding discussions, but something more definite 
is now needed. The period, or epoch, is the largest and 
most complex historical division. Fundamentally, it 
is one of the coordinate phases of institutional growth 
which go to make up the totality of a people's life. 
A period exists by virtue of the fact that a great movement 
in the life of the people dominates events for a given time. 
This epochal movement sets off its own time and events 
from those which precede and those which succeed it; 
it is, therefore, a differentiating idea. Were it not so, 
periods would be, in relation to each other, mere artificial 
inventions depending upon, and varying with, the whim 
of the writer or teacher. Not only does the dominant 
movement do this, but it also forms the common content 
of the facts of its own period, and thus performs the 
function of integration. Fundamentally, an event with- 
out this common content does not belong to the period, 
even if it occurs within the usual chronological limits of 
that period. 

Nature of this Period. We have found already that the 
stream of American institutional life exhibits four great 
phases, and that the first of these is marked by being 
mainly concerned with the rise and growth of local insti- 
tutions. From the manner of settlement the ideas and 
customs out of which these institutions grew were planted 
in groups more or less isolated, and throughout the 
period there was little inter-communication. The physical 
barriers to this were very great. The distance between 
settlements was immense. Rivers, mountains, dense 
forests, savage beasts, and more savage men were almost 
insuperable obstacles to cooperation, even if the dis- 
position had existed. To this must be added the very- 
slow means of travel which in those days separated colonial 



80 Organization of American History 

capitals by hundreds of miles. In the early part of the 
period, little conscious need of communication between 
governments arose except in New England. Direct 
official connection with England tended to prevent com- 
munication among the colonies on political matters. 
For the most part, politics was entirely a matter of local 
concern. Therefore this is the period when the forms 
and functions of local self-government had full and free 
development, when the government of the American town 
and township, county and state had their genesis. The 
same tendency prevailed in religious affairs, each colony 
following the dictation of local considerations. In fact, 
religious differences emphasized the isolation of colonial 
institutions, for the spirit of persecution was not entirely 
absent. Similarly, each colony followed its own ideas 
and prejudices in matters of education and social life. 

Perhaps commerce was the only thread that bound the 
colonies together, with the feeling that, independently of 
all external dangers, each produced something which the 
other wanted. In addition, it may be noticed that the 
people felt the tie of race when thinking of themselves 
in relation to Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Indians. But 
this feeling came only in times of external danger. 
Whatever germs of connection and union may have 
existed in this period were overshadowed by the facts 
and conditions of institutional isolation. Preeminently, 
then, it was an age for the development of local interests 
and institutions; and we may safely conclude that the 
origin and development of such ideas and institutions is 
the organizing idea of this period. 

The Organizing Idea at Work. It has already been 
explained as an important principle of organization that 
the differentiating and the integrating idea must be iden- 
tical; that is, the idea which separates this period from the 



Growth of "Local Institutions 81 

other parts of American history, and the parts of the period 
from each other, must be the idea that unites all the parts 
of this period into a whole. This we have already found 
to be the growth of local institutions, mainly out of 
European ideas and customs. It is this idea, seen as 
the content of the leading events of the period, that 
interprets and integrates them, that puts meaning into 
them and joins them as a whole. This same idea 
furnishes the standard for determining the relative 
value of the events of the period, thus giving them coord- 
ination and subordination as parts in an organic whole. 

Phases of the Period. In order to be more specific, it 
is necessary to subdivide the period and search for more 
concrete organizing ideas. It must be ever in mind that 
the real parts of a period are to be found by looking for 
differences in its organizing idea — differences, in this 
instance, in the growth of local institutional ideas. A 
discriminating study of life in this time will reveal three 
forms pretty well differentiated. They do not, however, 
result from progressive evolution, but are, rather, three 
parallel streams of institutional ideas that run throughout 
the entire period. It is discovered that these differences 
coincide, in the main, with the familiar geographical 
regions of colonial times. It may be stated, then, that 
in New England there was a movement toward a general 
diffusion of rights and privileges, while in the southern 
group the movement was in the opposite direction, 
toward the centralization of rights and privileges. In 
the middle group there was a partial blending of the 
two movements. 

The Diffusion of Rights and Privileges 

Why the New Differentiation is Made. These differ- 
ences in the growth of local institutions are not discovered 

6 



82 Organization of American History 

for their own sake merely, but that they may serve the 
mind further in the process of organization. It is to this 
end that all separations — analyses — are made in any 
science, for it is only by this process that deeper and more 
perfect integrations — syntheses — are possible. Analysis, 
alone, may* annihilate a subject, reducing it to isolated 
fragments. To avoid . this, and to attain the highest 
result as to discipline and knowledge, the act of synthesis 
must invariably follow. In the present case each 
phase of local colonial life must be organized under a 
new and more concrete principle. If life in New 
England is differentiated from that in other groups by a 
movement tending to the diffusion of rights and privileges, 
then this same idea must connect New England life into 
a whole. 

The Organizing Principle in the Concrete. Let us 
look at some of the leading facts of New England history 
to see if they contain this principle. The charter of the 
Massachusetts Bay colony gave twenty-six persons almost 
unlimited power. Before leaving England with this 
charter, other persons, by vote of its members, were 
admitted to the rights and privileges of the corporation. 
In 1 63 1 suffrage was extended to approved church mem- 
bers. New Haven was the only other colony in the group 
that extended the privileges of voting no further than to 
church members, while Rhode Island was more liberal 
still. In 1632 the settlers at Watertown refused to 
pay taxes levied by the assistants. This led, in 1634, to 
the establishment of representative government in Massa- 
chusetts. The body of assistants and representatives 
were separated into two houses, thus forming the Upper 
and Lower Houses of Colonial times, which division has 
persisted to our own day. In 1635 the judiciary was 
made more popular by establishing local courts, whose 



Growth of Local Institutions 8j 

sessions were held in the various towns. About this 
time was legalized the town meeting, the most democratic 
institution of that age, another New England feature 
persisting to the present. In respect to most of these 
points, Plymouth, Connecticut, and Rhode Island were 
even more progressive. In 1641 Massachusetts estab- 
lished the famous Body of Liberties, — a sort of Magna 
Charta, as was said. This document was submitted to 
the towns of the colony, and is remarkable for the advanced 
ideas set forth as to the rights of individuals. The exist- 
ence of a party in Massachusetts in favor of the ideas of 
Roger Williams and Mrs. Hutchinson 1 proves a move- 
ment toward differentiation in religious thought, and the 
fact that many who did not agree with them did not 
favor their banishment proves a tendency toward tolera- 
tion. This tendency grew stronger and had much to do 
in causing the authorities to stop the persecution of the 
Quakers, and in the witchcraft delusion public sentiment 
opened the prisons and cheated the gallows of some of its 
victims. This sentiment ultimately led Massachusetts 
to make reparation to the descendants whose ancestors 
had suffered. And later, both Massachusetts and 
Connecticut relieved Quakers and Baptists from ecclesi- 
astical dues. In Rhode Island there was always more 
generous religious fellowship among sects than in Massa- 
chusetts. The gradual growth of toleration was the 
natural result of conflicting sects — a result that reaches 
our own time. The Puritan church organization was thor- 
oughly democratic. The local congregation was sovereign. 
The New England public school! That of itself tells 
the story. No other institution in its day did so much 
to bring the same opportunity to every man's child. The 

1 The parties to these controversies were all Puritans — a fact 
that is generally overlooked in most of our text-books. 



84 Organization of American History 

founding of the college and the establishment of the 
printing-press were other facts that point toward the 
diffusion of opportunity. But what of industry? Soil, 
climate, mode of settling, the presence of the sea, and the 
great forest filled with timber and animals — all favored 
variety of occupation. This resulted, naturally, in the 
distribution rather than in the concentration of wealth; 
at least, it gave equal opportunity and a just return for 
labor. The Puritan family in England was freer from 
the coloring of aristocracy than was any other, yet, on 
removing to America, it brought many an English custom. 
But the great movements indicated were powerful social 
levelers. Puritan legislation began to grow into a new 
mold, and in 1641 the Body of Liberties struck some 
severe blows at the English method of transmitting 
property. What we have seen to be true of New England 
colonial life, was, in large measure, true of the insti- 
tutional development of the entire North to the present 
time. 

The truth of the organizing idea of New England his- 
tory seems to be sufficiently attested by every great feature 
of that historical group, as far as New England could 
control her own destiny. It is this idea that the student 
must find in the individual facts of New England history. 
When New England's life has been thus interpreted and 
we see in the events essentially the same idea, the mind 
has joined them into an intelligible whole due to the 
inherent force of a great dominant idea. And when 
each fact is measured as to the extent and degree of this 
content, we may say that each fact has taken its appro- 
priate rank in the whole — that each is seen in its true 
historical perspective. 

Principle Governing the Conduct of New England 
toward English Authority. The events organized above 



Growth of Local Institutions 8$ 

belong to the internal development of New England. 
There are other events growing immediately out of the 
relations between the colonies and the mother country. 
In whatever form the conflict of authority between them 
expressed itself, the New England colonists were deter- 
mined to preserve and increase their rights and privileges. 
It was a principle, always more or less consciously 
guiding them, to exercise as much power as possible and 
to resist all encroachments upon it. This is clearly 
seen in the first great controversy between 1634 and 
1636, when, on account of charges against the colony, 
Massachusetts was ordered by an English court to sur- 
render its charter. The Governor and Council refused 
to make answer, while the ministers of the colony resolved 
that "we ought to defend our lawful possessions." The 
General Court, or colonial legislature, ordered that new 
forts be erected, and that the people be trained in the 
use of arms. The danger was averted by the crisis in 
England, and did not return till 1646, when the Long 
Parliament held sway. This body claimed the right to 
reverse the decisions of the colonial legislature, and also 
to give to Massachusetts a new charter. Both of these 
claims were viewed as aggressions by the colony, and 
were so strongly opposed that parliament did not push 
matters to a crisis. Soon after the Restoration Charles II 
sent orders to Massachusetts to remove the religious 
qualifications for suffrage, permit the English Church 
to hold meetings, and to have all legal documents run in 
the king's name. There was so much opposition to these 
changes, and some were made so reluctantly, while others 
were not made at all, that royal commissioners were sent 
over in 1664. News of their coming having reached 
Boston, the colonial authorities ordered a fast, a committee 
was given charge of the charter, the trainbands were 



86 Organization of American History 

authorized to practice, and other military preparations 
were made. The opposition to the work of the commis- 
sioners prevented any encroachments upon chartered 
rights. In the battle of the New England colonies for 
their charters, and in their temporary defeat in the days 
of Andros, the same principle of action controlled the 
people and their authorities. 

Therefore, for the series of events growing put of the 
relations between New England and the mother country, 
the determination of the colonists to preserve, and, if 
possible, increase their rights and privileges, becomes the 
organizing idea. The teacher will note that this idea and 
motive will be found as content in all the events entering 
into the series, and also that this series, as a whole, organ- 
izes into proper relations, with the series of events embody- 
ing the diffusion of rights and opportunities. This latter 
we have seen to be the principle of their domestic develop- 
ment, and it was for the preservation of this internal life 
that the fierce opposition to England's encroachments 
was made. 

Centralization of Rights and Opportunities 

Nature of this Organizing Idea. The above heading is 
taken as a statement of the most fundamental movement 
common to the institutions of the southern group of 
colonies. An attempt to organize the facts of southern 
colonial history around this idea will be found more diffi- 
cult than the organization of New England history around 
the opposite principle. This difficulty grows out of the 
fact that the political life of the southern group was more 
frequently interrupted by conflicts of the- people with the 
officials of the crown or with proprietors, and hence its 
political development was not left as undisturbed, and was 
not allowed to follow its natural tendency as completely 



Growth of Local Institutions 8y 

as in New England. A practical difficulty also confronts 
the teacher or student who searches for events and facts 
bearing on the internal history of the group; for while 
most of our historians have been diligent in giving us 
pictures of the political collisions 1 mentioned above, 
they have not described very fully the events that attended 
the gradual absorption of power and influence by the 
slaveholders. This movement, by which political, social, 
cultural, and industrial opportunities were practically 
concentrated in the hands of the planters, was in the 
main a silent process. It went on, generation after 
generation, without obtruding itself upon the conscious- 
ness of the colonists; but it was none the less fundamental 
and permanent in its character. 

General Causes of the Movement. The soil of the 
southern colonies was exceedingly fertile, thus making 
agriculture so easy and remunerative that it practically 
became their one great occupation. No other occupation 
in this section could compete with it, and thus the oppor- 
tunity for variety of labor was greatly limited. Besides, 
the warm climate made possible the production of certain 
plants, like tobacco, rice, indigo, and cotton. From the 
nature of these plants and their physical environment, 
the cultivation of them was simple ; it could be performed 
by unskilled labor. These conditions made slave labor 
possible, and the great heat of the section made it seem 
desirable. The employment of the slave soon taught the 
planters that an increase in profit was to be gained by 
increasing the number of slaves. The result of this was 
an increase in the size of the plantation to give room for 

1 There is no doubt of the historical significance of these 
conflicts, for they tended to keep alive the spirit of opposition to 
encroachments on the rights of the colonies, but it must be remem- 
bered that they constitute only one phase of one portion of the 
people's life. 



88 Organization of American History 

more slaves. The tendency of family pride was also in 
the direction of more slaves and more acres. The planters 
therefore absorbed the most desirable of the agricultural 
lands. 

Economical Aspects of the Movement. The first form 
of slavery was not negro slavery, but it was a system of 
indentured service, by means of which the planters 
obtained white laborers for a term of years by paying 
their passage to America, or by buying their labor from 
companies who made a business of bringing them over. 
After his term of service the indentured laborer was turned 
loose — ignorant, poor, and often vicious — to shift for 
himself. These people furnished the beginnings of that 
class which, later, was the product of negro slavery — the 
poor whites. To the indentured servant after his con- 
tract expired, and to other non-slaveholders, three things 
were open: i. They could be day-laborers, the easiest 
and most likely thing to be done. In this they came into 
either direct or indirect competition with the negro slave. 
Not only did the presence of the slave give them less work 
to do, but for the part that fell to them the wages were 
small, from the fact that the cheaper form of labor was 
always present. 2. They could emigrate, and thus 
remove themselves from the immediate presence of 
slavery. They moved out upon the frontier or up into 
the mountains, where lands were cheaper, and became 
independent farmers on a small scale. The more enter- 
prising settlers direct from Europe, not yet affected by 
contact with slavery, furnished by far the greater number 
of border farmers. But even this more ambitious class 
felt the unequal contest with slavery. The products of 
their more humble efforts had to go into the same market 
and compete with the products of the plantation. If 
the non-slaveholders were still more ambitious, and if 



Growth of Local Institutions 8g 

their knowledge was equal to their ambition, they fre- 
quently crossed the border into the northern or middle 
colonies, where competition was more normal. 3 . Finally, 
it was barely possible, but not probable, that they might 
become slaveholders on a small scale. 

Slavery gave the planter leisure, but it added to the 
time the non-slave-holder must work if he hoped to gain 
a competence or even the comforts of life. Slavery gave 
wealth to the planter, but denied it to the non-slave- 
holder. The tendency, economically, was to put the 
wealth of the colony into the hands of planters. 

Social and Educational Effects. In no other form of 
southern institutional life is the reign of the principle of 
growth, stated in the beginning, more strikingly apparent 
than in social life. The gulf between the family of the 
slaveholder and the family of the non-slaveholder was 
almost impassable. The immediate causes of this con- 
trast in social standing are found in the fact that one 
family had wealth, leisure, and refinement, while the 
other was poor and had to labor, — conditions akin to 
slavery, — and was often marked by the absence of refine- 
ment and intelligence. On one side was family pride, 
ancestry, acres, and slaves; on the other was a family 
often lacking in everything which constitutes the basis 
of famjly pride, with poverty often as deep as that of 
the slave, and even more pitiable, and with ignorance so 
dense as to be entirely unconscious. Naturally, there 
could be but little fellowship between families so widely 
separated. 

In the southern group there were few public schools 
such as were known in New England. In the absence of 
general and public means of education there was little 
opportunity for the non-slaveholder to educate his 
children. If he was above the average non-slaveholder 



go Organization of American History 

in point of wealth, the parson or some indigent scholar 
might be found to tutor them. Sometimes a substitute 
was discovered in the person of an indented servant. But 
all these results were only a few drops in the great ocean 
of ignorance. Thus it seems that the lack of education 
was a means to perpetuate the condition of the non- 
slaveholder. In contrast with this, the children of the 
planter could have an education. Many of them had 
private tutors. Some went to the College of William 
and Mary, others to northern schools, while the chil- 
dren of the more wealthy and ambitious went abroad for 
their schooling. This disparity between the two classes 
in education had much to do in perpetuating social and 
other differences. 

How the Principle Worked in Politics and in Religion. 
With all these differences of wealth, family position, and 
education, it is not only not a matter of surprise, but was 
the most natural and fitting thing that the slaveholders 
should fill leading positions. It was practically necessary 
that they be the recipients of political preferment at the 
hands of the crown and of the people. No other class 
in this group could furnish men who could measure up 
to the needs of colonial government. It was not unnatural 
that, with political power mainly in their hands, they 
should be tempted to use it to promote their own interests. 
This was accomplished in many ways; but the most 
effective was the requirement of a given land qualification 
for suffrage, and a larger one for office-holding. Add to 
these the custom of the crown or proprietor of appointing 
only persons of high degree to places in the upper house 
of the colonial legislature, and we have all the conditions 
for the concentration of political power and influence in 
the hands of one class. The plantation system gave to 
the southern group a scanty white population with very 



Growth of Local Institutions gi 

few towns and the county system of government. Both 
endured to the Civil War. 

How about religious thought and feeling? Do they 
grow under the same law? So far as social and political 
interests touched religious customs and machinery, the 
tendency was to put their control in the hands of the 
aristocratic element. Where the English Church was 
the dominant organization in this group of colonies there 
was little to prevent concentration. 

The peculiarity of all sides of life in the southern 
colonies, which we have been studying, did not, as might 
be expected, unfit the slaveholders for active and aggres- 
sive work in the Revolution. The love of personal and 
political independence was as strong as it was in the feudal 
lords who snatched English liberty from King John. 
And in the southern colonies, where the favors of the 
crown did not stifle it, this old spirit flared up as quickly 
as in the more democratic regions of New England. 
There were some features of the war that were not found 
in the North, but the centralization of power and privilege 
did not seriously check its progress in the southern section. 

Conclusion. The above discussion is historical, rather 
than pedagogical. It has, however, this bearing on the 
process of thinking: by it we have demonstrated the 
existence of a law of growth in southern colonial life, which 
law is to play the part of the "organizing idea" of the 
history of this group, at least so far as internal influences 
are concerned. 

It may not be amiss to suggest that the colonies be 
studied in groups rather than as isolated colonies. The 
student, in his first study, should, perhaps, take each one 
in detail, but a second going over the subject, if only in 
review, should be devoted to laying emphasis on the 
features common to the members of the same group. 



92 Organization of American History 

This should be done for the sake of the knowledge as well 
as for the reason that time may be saved. The knowledge 
thus gained will have in it an element not to be had by 
studying isolated colonies; it will show the student that 
the great overshadowing features of life in one member 
were to be found in the other members of the same group. 
For purposes of historical interpretation this will entirely 
suffice. It seems that the principle of concrete expres- 
sion of ideas and customs would be fully satisfied by 
selecting a representative colony of each group, say, 
Massachusetts for the northern, Virginia for the southern, 
New York and Pennsylvania for the middle group. 

The Principle Governing the Attitude of the Southern 
Colonists toward English Authority. If we analyze the 
events touching the relations between England and this 
group of colonies, we shall discover in the southern group 
the same state of sentiment as was found in New England, 
■ — a determination to exercise for themselves as much 
power as possible, and to oppose all encroachments, 
whether made directly by king and parliament, or indi- 
rectly by the colonial governors. This attitude is found 
in Virginia, when James I took the charter from the 
London Company, when Charles I made an -effort to get 
control of the tobacco trade or sided with Governor 
Harvey, when Cromwell sent his war vessels and com- 
missioners, and when Bacon defied the authority of 
Governor Berkeley. Likewise in the Carolinas, whether 
they were contending with proprietors under Locke's 
Grand Model, or contesting the aggressions of colonial 
governors appointed by the king, the same principle of 
conduct animated them. Because of her internal dis- 
turbances, Maryland presents fewer cases of conflict 
with king and governors than either Virginia or the Caro- 
linas; but where cases of invaded rights were clear, 



Growth of Local Institutions pj 

the settlers of Maryland proved their right to be regarded 
as true Englishmen. 

In discussing New England's relation to English 
authority, we found that the events connected therewith 
grew out of the people's efforts to maintain securely the 
institutional life of the group, especially as related to 
politics, religion, and commerce. The same relation 
exists in the southern group between these two series of 
events. The opposition here was not for its own sake, 
but for the purpose of protecting the institutions of the 
colonies from dangerous encroachments which tended to 
limit the participation of the people in their functions. 

The Middle Colonies 

Internal Institutional Growth. The diversity of races, 
of religious and political institutions in this group makes 
it impossible to discover a dominant movement in colonial 
times for the group as a whole. Here we have a popula- 
tion foreshadowing that of our times. Here were the 
Dutch, Swedes, Germans, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, and 
English. Each was wedded to the ideas and institutions 
of his native land, and thus presented many barriers to 
the development of a characteristic tendency in internal 
affairs. New York partook, to some extent, of the char- 
acteristics of New England, especially late in the colonial 
period, but in its early days, Dutch influence was para- 
mount; it did not, however, extend into other colonies. 
New Jersey and Delaware were much influenced by their 
proximity to the southern group, and the latter became a 
slave state. The conditions favoring diversity in Penn- 
sylvania were so great that it had little in common with 
the other members of the group. Thus it appears that 
no law of development can be found for this group as a 
whole unless it be the law of diversity. This makes the 



Q4 Organization of American History 

organization of the history of this group as a whole quite 
unsatisfactory. No doubt an analysis of the internal life 
of each colony would present some idea to serve as its 
organizing principle, but work so detailed hardly belongs 
to the scope of the present discussion. 

Attitude of Middle Colonies toward English Authority. 
While it may be difficult to discover an internal move- 
ment common to all the members of the middle group of 
colonies, it is not at all difficult to find the common prin- 
ciple animating the people of each colony with reference 
to extension of English authority. Particularly is this 
true of the two great members of the group, — New York 
and Pennsylvania. Almost from the day of their birth, 
the people of these two colonies were in conflict with their 
respective local authorities, whose functions and powers 
were drawn from royal authority. Sometimes the opposi- 
tion was in the minority, but it kept on its struggle. In 
many cases the victory was only defensive, and simply 
held what had been gained, but from 1700 to the Revolu- 
tion the people became aggressive and won real advances 
in rights and opportunities. 

We thus discover that a common principle of action 
controlled the people of all the colonies in dealing with 
questions relating to the extension of British authority 
over them. This gives us a common interpreting and 
coordinating principle for all events falling under this 
category. Of course, with reference to the future, the 
discovery of this common content is full of significance, 
for it shows the gradual divergence of English and Ameri- 
can political ideas, and that the spirit of the Revolution 
was born of a century or more of rough experience with 
English officials. 

Suggestions as to Closing a Period. In closing a period, 
the teacher must see that the students take a new view — 



Growth of Local Institutions P5 

not the old view — of the period : i . A restatement of the 
period movements and sub-period movements. 2. Have 
them mark off each movement by dates and events. 3. 
Require a statement of the institutional lessons for 
practical purposes, taught by the period. 4. Give 
events or movements which bear striking resemblances 
or differences to events or movements of the present day. 
5. State ideas or movements which we have inherited 
from this period. 

The facts under point "5" are so important and so 
seldom given in texts that a statement covering some of 
these points, may be permitted. 1. The colonial govern- 
ment furnished material, largely, for state and national 
governments". Local institutions, such as the county, 
township, and village governments are perpetuated to- 
day in our local institutions. 2. The separation of the 
legislative from the executive, and both from the judi- 
ciary was born in the colonial times. 3. The presence of 
conflicting sects of religions gave America religious free- 
dom. 4. Out of colonial germs sprang the free school 
idea. 5. The two systems of labor planted in colonial 
days gave us two contrasting systems of industry and 
their consequences. 6. The survival of English institu- 
tions in the conflicts with Spain and with France. 7. 
England's lack of wisdom in dealing with the colonies 
was most marked in the closing days of the period and 
in the opening of the next. 



PERIOD OF THE GROWTH OF UNION 
The Period as a Whole 

The Transition from Isolation to Union. The law of 

differentiation operating in history makes every age 
a period of transition. The law of continuity, however, 
so controls the movement of the dominant idea that 
its growth consists in merely passing from one stage of 
itself to another. But what may be termed transitions 
proper are changes marked either by the appearance of 
new ideas and sentiments, or by new growth in the old 
ideas, amounting to new movements. These transitions 
proper are most marked on the border lines between 
periods, and are usually characterized by events whose 
content partakes of both the old and the new movement. 
The transition in the present case marks the passage 
from the first to the second of the great coordinate move- 
ments in American institutional life. If the student is to 
be guided by the laws of growth, he must search for the 
germs of the second period far back in the midst of the 
first. One of these, the tie of race, has already been 
mentioned. The English colonists felt that they were one 
against Indians, Spaniards, and Frenchmen. Even in the 
first portion of the colonial era England made the Amer- 
icans feel that her commercial interest and theirs were 
not identical. The renewal and extension of the naviga- 
tion laws under Charles II, the creation of the Boards of 
Trade under William and Mary, the limitations on the 
woolen trade in the same reign, the passage of the importa- 
tion act of 1733, and many other limitations upon colonial 
industry, tended to strengthen this conviction. Out 
of these restrictions and this conviction, aided by the 
desire for gain, flourished the colonial smuggling trade. 

96 



The Growth of Union gy 

American merchants and shippers, after the manner of 
Englishmen, troubled themselves very little about the 
moral questions, and soon there arose a loose sort of 
cooperation among the smugglers of the various ports; 
this was a germ of union that quickly developed into the 
merchant organizations of the Revolution. Another 
cause was England's siding with the governors in their 
quarrels with the colonists. While these contests over 
authority did not lead to any form of cooperation in the 
colonial time, yet they did create a state of mind which 
furnished a basis for it in later times. Another thread 
of sympathy existed in the first period, — danger from 
French and Indians. The danger was constant between 
1690 and 1763, and was common to nearly all the colonies. 
That the English colonies so felt is abundantly proven by 
a long line of intercolonial meetings. Sometimes only 
the representatives of one group were present, but at one 
time or another all the colonies were thus in friendly 
consultation. The immediate result of these conferences 
was a series of cooperative military and naval expeditions 
against the common enemy. The inter-colonial wars 
and their attendant intercommunication prepared the 
way for union by breaking down some of the prejudices, 
religious and social, which various colonies entertained, 
and thus tended to remove barriers to union erected in the 
period of isolation. These examples prove that even in 
the period when local interests and institutions were 
dominant, new impulses were beginning to differentiate 
themselves from the prevailing condition and to move 
forward to the conquest of the future. 

The Period Proper. The real nature of the thought- 
movement of this period is foreshadowed in the lines of 
growth already indicated. It is indeed a movement from 
isolation to union. The preceding discussion, however, 

7 



g8 Organization of American History 

has not pointed out the special circumstances under 
which the impulse to union gained so mighty an impetus 
that it absorbed the energy of the whole people, and thus 
made it the dominant movement of an era. The inter- 
colonial wars left both England and America deeply in 
debt, and even before the close of the last one England 
began to devise means to raise a larger revenue in America. 
This determination led the custom-house officials of Boston 
to apply for Writs of Assistance as a means of breaking up 
smuggling. James Otis came to the rescue and made his 
great argument by appealing to the English constitution. 1 
The result was regarded as a victory for all the colonies. 
The failure to enforce the old laws of trade led to their 
modification in 1763. This new law was a sort of confis- 
cation act, because its most striking feature provided that 
the navy should be used to destroy the smuggling trade 
by seizing smuggled goods. It stimulated the cupidity 
of the naval officers, the governors, the judges, and the 
military officials by allowing them to share in the con- 
fiscations. Commerce with the West Indies was threat- 
ened with destruction. A storm of protests swept over to 
England. American commerce was greatly damaged, 
but England gained' nothing. From now on, parliament- 
ary legislation concerning America produced at each step 
the same results, — drove the colonies farther from England 
and closer to one another. The Stamp Act brought in its 
train colonial correspondence, non-importation societies, 
Sons and Daughters of Liberty, a congress, and a whirlwind 
of indignation. The Tea Tax, the Massachusetts Circular 
Letter, the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Port Bill, and 

x In this speech Otis struck the "keynote" of the first phase of 
the American revolution. Lecky's England, vol. iii. p. 336, says 
that it excited great enthusiasm in the colonies. Extracts from 
the speech are found in Tudor 's Life of James Otis, and in Mace's 
Working Manual of A merican History. 



The Growth of Union gg 

other events, produced similar results, — closer unity in 
sentiment, and greater cooperation in action. On this 
oneness of mind and heart independence rested for its 
declaration and its success. The growth of union and the 
success of the war were mutually dependent. This same 
sentiment gave existence to the Confederation, and as it 
waxed or waned, the Confederation was strong or weak. 
But the great process of unification went on and finally 
gave us the form of a nation, — the Constitution of the 
United States, the crowning event of the American 
Revolution. 

Organization of the Period as a Whole. The above 
brief examination of the thought and feeling of this period 
is made to show that an organizing idea in history is not 
an arbitrary whim or invention, but is a real, vital thing to 
be discovered by probing into the very essence of the facts 
to be organized, is a scientific induction drawn from a most 
careful analysis and comparison of the facts observed. 
It will be noticed that this examination confirms what 
we saw when dividing American history into its great 
coordinate parts, and also what was seen above when 
tracing the evolution of this period out of the life of the 
preceding, — that the differentiating mark of this phase 
of our life is the growth of the sentiment of union. 
If the results of these examinations did not mutually 
support one another there could be no organization. For 
this idea of union could not interpret the events of this 
period, if it did not at the same time set them off from the 
events of the other periods. This test must be satisfied 
by the organizing principle in any science; otherwise 
it cannot lay claim to the function of such an idea. The 
ultimate test, of course, comes in the process of inter- 
pretation, when the student is carefully searching for the 
content — for the true significance — of the individual facts. 



ioo Organization of American History 

If the induction is a true one this detailed and painstaking 
search will only reveal in this period the idea of union in 
greater fullness. It is finding this identity of content in 
the series of events called the Revolution that enables 
the mind to see it as an organically related whole. Here 
are events so widely different in aspect as almost to lose the 
student in the maze of differences, but under the direction 
of this idea of union we find them all akin. This identity 
will enable the teacher to point out in the most distant 
future the functioning of similar events. Identity of 
content is the only law of mind or of history that will 
enable the student to organize so many diverse facts into 
a logical historical whole. 

The time between 1760 and 1789 was rich with events; 
and their systematic study as a whole must be carried 
further by measuring their relative value as a means to 
give them rank in the period. This is accomplished by 
comparing these events as to their relative contribu- 
tion to the growth of the dominant idea of the time. Not 
only as a matter of knowledge but as a matter pertaining 
to the intelligent direction of others, the teacher must 
answer such questions as this: Which event will give the 
student the deepest insight into the great movement 
toward unity in thought and action, — the struggle over the 
Writs of Assistance, the Stamp Act Congress, the Boston 
Tea Party, the battle of Lexington, the creation of the 
Confederation, or the ratifying conventions that established 
the Constitution? This question asked and answered for 
the leading facts of the Revolution will give them their 
true rank in the period, — their proper coordination and 
sub-ordination in the series. They may thus be viewed 
in their true historical perspective. Then the period is 
no longer a chaos of facts, but each one stands in the place 
assigned it by its own historical significance. 



The Growth of Union 101 

The Phases of the Period. As a means to a scientific 
knowledge of the period as a whole, there can be no doubt 
concerning the value of the general process of organization 
just explained. But the general idea of union, as the 
content for events taken singly or in groups smaller than 
that of the period, is not adequate, — is too abstract for 
purposes of detailed study and organization. This would 
not only leave the content of revolutionary events vague, 
but, necessarily, also the student's notion of the movement 
of union would be indefinite. Hence, the idea of union 
must be pushed out into all its different manifestations. 
To obtain this richer content we must appeal to another 
great function of our organizing idea — the division of the 
period into its organic parts. In obedience to the principle 
of logical division, and in harmony with the laws of con- 
tinuity and differentiation, we must find these parts by 
discovering differences in the growth of the sentiment of 
union. In casting the eye along the course of this mighty 
current between 1760 and 1789, there appear two general 
differences. In one part of the stream, thought and feeling 
are flowing in unison against England, while in the other, 
ideas and sentiments are moving toward agreement as to 
the proper relations between the states and the general 
government. Union against England dominated public 
sentiment from 1760 to 1783, and union on domestic 
questions had its beginning about 1775 and grew in inten- 
sity till 1789. These forms of union constitute the two 
great coordinate phases of the period of revolution. These 
two phases overlap, which is proof that the parts are 
historically true and were really organic forms of the 
people's thought, and not mere artificial inventions. 
Union against England 

Organizes Events from 1760 to 1783 into a Series. 
Since the idea of union against England differentiates the 



102 Organization of American History 

first from the second half of this period, it must also 
integrate all the leading facts of the first half. Union 
against England will be found as their chief common 
content. Whether we study the Massachusetts Circular 
Letter, the Congress of 1774, the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, Washington's retreat through the Jerseys, or Bur- 
goyne's campaign, the greatest common significance we 
can find in them is the relation of union to them as cause 
and their reaction upon it as effect. The problem is not 
entirely solved when all the facts are thus traced into this 
great stream of public sentiment. These events must 
stand in the mind in orderly arrangement. If a true his- 
torical sense is to be developed in the student, they must 
be given rank on basis of their contribution to maintaining 
union against England. We see that this is a more con- 
crete and definite organizing idea than the general idea 
of union. Perhaps it is possible to discover a still more 
substantial organizing idea. This can come, as we have 
often seen, only by discovering the inherent differences 
in the growth of the organizing idea, — in this case, union 
against England. A glance at this growth will reveal two 
contrasting phases: Union against England on the basis 
of the Rights of Englishmen, extending from about 1760 
to 1775, and most fully expressed in the Declaration of 
Rights; and union against England on the basis of the 
Rights of Man, which extended from 1775 to 1783, and 
best expressed in the Declaration of Independence. 

Union on the Basis of Rights of Englishmen. The 
growth of union on the basis of the Rights of Englishmen 
is, in the order of time, the first phase of the American 
Revolution. To secure their rights as British subjects 
under the British Constitution was the animating thought 
that organized resistance to every measure of king or par- 
liament aiming at an infringement of colonial privileges. 



The Growth of Union ioj 

It was the inspiration of this idea that first made Ameri- 
cans one in thought and sentiment, and concentrated their 
efforts in every struggle from the Writs of Assistance to 
the battle of Lexington. The resolutions of town meet- 
ings and of colonial assemblies, petitions to the king and 
addresses to the English parliament and people by the 
Continental Congress, the organization and work of the 
Sons and Daughters of Liberty, the Committees of Corre- 
spondence, the Non-importation and Non-exportation 
societies, the passage of the Stamp Act, Tea Tax and 
Boston Port Bill, the Boston Massacre and the Tea 
Party, either consciously aimed at, or unconsciously 
produced, a union to obtain the rights common to all 
Englishmen. The development of this sentiment, then, 
must be taken as the organizing idea for all the facts of 
this first part of the union against England. To trace 
the connection between these individual facts and this 
great idea — to see each of them producing it or produced 
by it, or both — is to interpret them. 

A formal interpretation of some one of the events of 
this time may serve to make plainer the process by which 
a concrete organizing idea performs its work. Let it be 
a familiar one, — the Stamp Act Congress. The process 
of interpreting this event must follow the general principle 
already laid down, and therefore requires four things of 
the student: i. That he show, if possible, the congress 
to be an outgrowth of union and cooperation already in 
existence. 2. That the work of this congress — its dis- 
cussions and declarations — be traced in its bearings on 
this idea of union. 3. That he show to what extent and 
in what way this meeting gave new impulses to thought 
and action directed to secure a united effort for the Rights 
of Englishmen. 4. That he show the bearing of this 
agitation on the America of to-day. The student has 



104 Organization of American History 

seen this movement going on as the result of a number 
of conflicts before the time of the Stamp Act. Besides, 
it was more than a year after the first news of the Stamp 
Act reached America that the congress convened. During 
this time he has been watching public sentiment take 
form. He has seen organized opposition begin in the 
towns, and has noted its transfer to colonial legislatures 
through instructions to representatives. From capital 
to capital, and from town to capital and back again, he 
has watched the news of agitation spread over the con- 
tinent. This system of intercommunication he saw 
carry the burning words of Patrick Henry to every colony 
both North and South, giving courage and enthusiasm to 
all the people till a call for a congress resounded over 
the whole land. By this process the student has been 
accumulating meaning for the congress, so that when he 
comes to it he is historically prepared for it. It stands 
to him as the expression of a great idea, — an idea that 
moves profoundly the mind and heart of an entire people. 
The meeting of this congress is not to him an empty 
happening which might or might not have occurred; but 
he sees its vital connection with the public sentiment that 
gave it birth, and hence views it as an occurrence which 
is natural, if not necessary. 

The work of this meeting must also be looked at from 
the point of view of its effects on the growth of union. 
Even the greatness of the men comprising the congress 
has this significance. The eminence of that body gave 
only greater impetus to the movement among the people. 
One of the marked features of the work accomplished was 
that it came almost unanimously from their hands. This 
fact was of no small consequence, for agreement among the 
leaders made the rank and file harmonious. The Declara- 
tion of Rights — the most important document issued by 



The Growth of Union 105 

the congress l — was calculated greatly to strengthen one- 
ness in thought and action, because it gave to the struggle 
a constitutional basis. This document, distributed among 
the people, read, debated, and talked over, was not only- 
felt to be a justification of what had been done, but was a 
powerful educator of the public mind as to the ground of 
resistance. The loyal and warm-hearted petition of the 
congress to the king touched a responsive chord every- 
where in America; it truly expressed the sentiments of 
Americans toward their sovereign, and, taken with the 
Declaration of Rights, it showed how loyalty and love of 
liberty grow side by side, — how loyalty does not mean 
servility, nor union treason. Thus we see that every 
important point connected with the congress touches the 
union to secure the Rights of Englishmen. 

It is quite possible to put into the Stamp Act Congress 
a more specific and individualized content than union for 
the Rights of Englishmen, i.e., union against internal taxa- 
tion; but we have carried the process far enough for 
purposes of illustration. In the light of this process of 
organization, we see in this event a very perfect gradation 
of ideas. In the first place, beginning with the lowest 
degree of generality, the Stamp Act Congress expresses 
the immediate determination of the people to secure the 
repeal of the Stamp Act. The discovery of this idea in its 
content makes this congress a member of a series of events 
that were means in trying to reach the same end. With 
this idea in mind for its content, it is a member of the 
smallest of the various series to which it belongs. Rising 
a step higher in the scale of generality, we find in the 
Stamp Act Congress an idea common to all great events 
between 1761 and 1775, — union to secure the Rights of 

*A more complete Declaration of the Rights of Englishmen is 
found among the documents issued by the Congress of 1774. 



106 Organization of American History 

Englishmen; here it becomes akin to the struggle over 
the Writs of Assistance, the Massachusetts Circular Letter, 
the Boston Tea Party, and the Congress of 1774. In this 
same event we also find the more general idea of union 
against England; thus giving it place and meaning in a 
wider range of facts. It is now allied to the battle of 
Bunker Hill, the Declaration of Independence, Valley- 
Forge, the treason of Arnold, and the surrender of Corn- 
wallis. But this congress of 1765 contains the general 
idea of union — an idea that threads every great event of 
the American Revolution. In embodying union in its 
general form, the Stamp Act Congress strikes hands with 
the transformation of colonial into state governments, the 
Articles of Confederation, Shays' Rebellion, the cession of 
western lands, the formation of the Society of the Cincin- 
nati, and the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Rising 
once more and finally in the scale of generality, we have 
in this event an idea that permeates all the facts of our 
history, — the evolution of the life of the American people. 
What is true of this event is true of the period of the Revo- 
lution, and what is true of this period is true of our entire 
history: it can be organized into a Hierarchy of Ideas. 

Union on Basis of the Rights of Man. This is the 
second phase of the struggle against England, and has its 
origin when public sentiment begins to pass over from the 
Rights of Englishmen to the Rights of Man. The germs 
of this new basis of union are found in the preceding 
struggle. "The rights of man," "natural rights," and 
similar expressions, are found in the speeches and writings 
of Otis, Henry, and in the documents of legislatures and 
congresses. The genesis of the new movement was greatly 
stimulated by the failure of the efforts of Chatham 
and Burke at conciliation, and by the attitude of king and 
parliament toward the petitions of the congresses of 1774 



The Growth of Union joy 

and 1775. The congress of 1 7 7 5 sent a final petition to the 
king by the hand of a good loyalist, Richard Penn. While 
waiting for the king's answer, the congress, in order not to 
prejudice the petition's reception, refused to undertake 
any measure looking toward independence. When, how- 
ever, word came that the king had refused to receive the 
petition, had proclaimed the colonists rebels, and had 
hired mercenary troops, the congress went forward rapidly 
with measures that looked toward independence. Lexing- 
ton and Bunker Hill had already occurred, and the 
siege of Boston was in progress. Paine 's Common Sense 
came in January, 1776, to add argument to the force of 
events in favor of separation. These and other events 
convinced the majority of the people that England would 
never grant their coveted English rights. This conviction 
forced them to contemplate a broader and a more generous 
basis of action, — the Rights of Man. The ripening of this 
new sentiment produced the Declaration of Independence, 
— the best formulation of the Rights of Man ever penned. 
In the winter and spring of 1776 various colonies began, 
with the advice of congress, to reorganize their local gov- 
ernments. New Hampshire and South Carolina were 
among the earliest to form a government based on the 
"consent of the governed." In April, 1776, North 
Carolina instructed her delegates in congress to cooperate 
with the other colonies' in measures for independence. 
May 4th, Rhode Island disclaimed allegiance to the king, 
and instructed its delegates in congress to promote union 
and confederation. The great commonwealth of Virginia, 
in convention assembled, voted (May 15th) to instruct 
its representatives in congress to propose a declaration 
of independence, confederation, and foreign alliances. 
This action was transmitted to the other colonial assem- 
blies. On June 1 2 th the convention issued a ' ' Declaration 



io3 Organization of American History 

of the Rights of Man." Of course, Massachusetts, in 
1775, had overthrown the royal government. Thus 
the movement away from the Rights of Englishmen and 
forward to the Rights of Man went on till the summer 
of 1776, when the more conservative colonies could 
withstand the agitation no longer, and where the regular 
colonial authorities refused to instruct for independ- 
ence, popular conventions assumed that function. The 
formal Declaration of Independence marks the triumph of 
the new basis of union in the minds and hearts of the 
American people. Its permanent triumph in institutional 
organization will be determined by the fortunes of war. 
The enumeration of the above facts is not for the pur- 
pose of tracing all the causes that gave rise to the change 
in American thought and feeling, but rather to show 
how union for the Rights of Man 1 becomes the dominant 
idea for the second phase of union against England. 
This also serves to show that our organizing idea in this 
new phase of the Revolution is not merely assumed or 
invented, but is the essence of that phase of institutional 
life which most completely absorbed the energies of the 
people for that time, — a movement so fundamental that 
the immediate past flowed into it, and the immediate 
future sprang out of it. The nature of the work done 
by the leaders is rich in lessons for reformers. The 
gradual character of the changes was characteristic of the 
Revolution. Fifteen years of effort, gradually increasing 
in volume, finally brought the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. The agitation was, in the main, temperate. 

iThe expression " Rights of Man" names more fundamentally 
the content of this movement than either "Independence" or 
"Separation." The latter are more frequently used, but the 
student must see that separation is likely to seem more of an act 
and less of the growth than the rights of man. _ Besides, independ- 
ence is rightly viewed as a means to the realization of the rights 
of men in American institutions. 



The Growth of Union iog 

The leaders frowned upon violence, as displayed in the 
Stamp Act riots. The Boston Tea Party was not the 
work of a mob, but was carefully planned long before 
the event. The people and the leaders were one in this 
event. By moving slowly, thought and action were given 
time to mature. Hence, as Chatham said, "the union 
is solid, permanent, and effectual." 

The Organization of Military Events. After the 
Declaration was made, most of the events connected with 
this phase of the Revolution were military in character. 
Battles and campaigns are a class of historical facts that 
have puzzled teachers and students. For a number of 
years less and less attention has been given to their 
study. Some persons urge their omission from text-books 
altogether. This is a natural reaction against the old- 
time view of history which made it consist largely of wars 
and the careers of warriors. Such was, no doubt, a 
very one-sided and superficial view of the subject; and it 
may be safely held that the military side of history will 
never again dominate our texts. Did the battles of the 
Revolution have anything to do with the real Revolution? 
This can be answered only in the affirmative, thus giving 
military events a place in the study; but what place or 
rank is not indicated. The battles of the Revolution 
were hardly a part of the real Revolution. They were the 
sign of a real revolution in the minds and hearts of the 
people ; they were also the means by which the advance in 
thought and feeling was made permanent. The relation 
between the war and the new form of union was, therefore, 
an intimate one. Perfect union among the people won 
victories, and victories aroused more hearty and enthu- 
siastic support for the cause. Hence, the rise and fall in 
the tide of public sentiment cannot be traced from 1775 
to 1783 without some study of the military events of that 



no Organization of American History 

time. But how shall we study a battle? What, for 
instance, is the problem to be solved in studying the 
battle of Lexington? Our organizing principles — union 
for the Rights of Englishmen and union for the Rights 
of Man — must give answer. The student must see flow- 
ing into this battle all the preparations the colonists had 
made : the formation of Committees of safety, the organiza- 
tion of minute men, the storing of munitions of war, the 
establishment of means of rapid communication between 
Boston and the villages and country to enable them 
to watch the British. The movement toward union, 
manifesting itself in these various ways, was the true 
cause of the battle, its character, and its immediate result. 
We now turn the battle toward its results and see how 
its content is enriched. First, let us see how not to do it. 
How this skirmish wrought up public opinion to so high 
a pitch is not to be discovered by trying to decide which 
party fired the first shot, nor by quoting the language used 
by Major Pitcairn as he bade the minute men lay down 
their arms, nor by trying to remember the number killed, 
wounded, and missing on each side. One might know 
all these facts, and many more of the accidental features 
of the affair, and yet not see the flame of indignation that 
swept over the land and made the people think and act 
as one man. A part of the answer to the problem of the 
battle of Lexington is to be found by seeing the response 
that came in the form of minute men from thirty Massa- 
chusetts towns before that day's work was over, and 
from all New England and the country at large in the 
days and weeks that immediately followed this contest. 
This answer is further to be read in the assembly of 
twenty thousand provincials around Boston, and in the 
patriotic resolves and energetic measures of the colonial 
assemblies, as they took up the burden of war. 



The Growth of Union in 

The interpretation of this battle makes the prob- 
lem in the study of a military event the same in kind 
as any other, event. To view it as a student of military 
science, is to miss its true historical content. Because 
teachers of history and writers of text-books have persisted 
in trying to treat battles and campaigns as illustrations 
of military science, or have viewed them as mere external 
happenings isolated from the real life of the people, 
came the reaction against the study of battles. It 
is believed, however, that the method of interpretation 
suggested will go far toward giving military events their 
legitimate rank. 

The battle, like any other external event, is a means, 
and not an end; it was a means, and not an end, to the 
people who participated in it. It must follow that only 
such features of the battle or campaign are to be studied 
as will contribute to the end in view. Military events 
of similar proportions do not bring about corresponding 
changes in the ideas and attitudes of the people. The 
disparity in the results of battles may be illustrated 
by the skirmish of Lexington and the storming of Stony 
Point. To the student of military science, the latter has 
many points of interest, while the former has little to 
commend it to him. To the student of the institutional 
life, the affair at Lexington is full of interest, while the 
attack on Stony Point has little value to him. It is 
true that this daring event has many unique and thrilling 
features about it, but their value ends largely in them- 
selves. This illustrates the statement that there is no 
fixed relation, nor one permitting formulation, existing 
between a battle and the movement of public sentiment. 
The best that can be done, therefore, is for the teacher to 
keep before the student the problem to be solved, and, 
if necessary, to direct him in the preparation of his work, 



1 12 Organization 0} American History 

so that emphasis will be given to those features that throw 
most light on the problem. 

If he does this, the mind will group these facts into 
a series, on the basis of a common historical content ; they 
thus become as much a part of the Revolution as do any 
other events of that time. 

Organization of Political Events. During this second 
phase of the struggle against England we have seen that 
another series of events, more purely political in character, 
were taking place; they include the ordinary work of 
the Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, the formation of state constitutions, foreign rela- 
tions, the attempt to establish a general government on 
the basis of the Articles of Confederation, and other 
events of a like nature. These are to be interpreted and 
integrated by the same organizing idea that answered 
for the military events, — union for the Rights of Man. 
The Declaration of Independence, as a document, gives 
the best formal expression of these rights. It embodies 
the ideas on which the struggle was to be waged, and on 
which it was to be justified to the Americans themselves 
and to the rest of mankind. The act of Declaration is 
evidence that new ideas had taken the place of the old 
basis of union. The enthusiasm with which it was 
received by the army and by the people attests the fact 
that union on the new basis was an accomplished fact; it 
also measures to the student the strength of the revul- 
sion in feeling that had taken place between April, 1775, 
and July, 1776. From this time on the attainment of 
the Rights of Man becomes the conscious aim of the 
Americans. They had not only given up the hope of 
English rights, but had substituted a new ambition, and 
one full of inspiration. This is the ideal that ani- 
mated their every act, from the smallest to the greatest; 



The Growth of Union iij 

it was a consuming passion with them. It seems to follow, 
then, that the student ought to put into the means used 
the same meaning which the people themselves did; but 
this interpretation cannot be made unless the doctrines 
of the great Declaration are studied, here and now, in the 
very place this event occupies in the series of which 
it is a part. The student ought to be required to make a 
careful analysis of the political principles 1 found therein, 
so that the "rights of man" may mean something definite 
to him. The accidental features should not be ignored ; 
but the teacher of history must constantly bear in mind 
the fact that the student may know all there is to be known 
of such features and still not know the real Declaration 
of Independence. There are two reasons for this study: 
it casts a new and fuller light on the events preceding the 
Declaration, — these events really caused it, — and their 
true and full meaning is not known till the things that were 
caused are understood; again, the events, both political 
and military, that followed the Declaration, are to be seen 
as means in the process by which it became possible for 
the ideas of the Declaration to become the foundation of 
our institutions. Thus, illuminated by the same great 
idea, the events between 1775 and 1783 become the 
members of a connected historical series. The student 
also finds, if he looks, that great men, in great crises, 
appeal to the Declaration of Independence for inspiration. 

Union of the States by Means of the General 

Government 

The Organizing Idea of the Second Half of the Revo- 
lution. The period of the Revolution is a period by 
virtue of the growth of the idea of union which permeated 

!The portion of the Declaration preceding the enumeration of 
grievances is the part to be studied most at this point. 



114 Organization of American History 

every act and fact of that age. We have already marked 
two great differentiating forms in the process of union; 
union against England, which constitutes the first half of 
the period, and union between the states by means of 
the general* government, which constitutes the last half 
of the period. These two coordinate parts are not cross- 
sections in the stream of Revolutionary thought and 
feeling, but are parts found running parallel through a 
portion of the period. 

In the very beginnings of the Revolution the colonies 
were brought into new relations with each other. To 
bring to a successful issue the combination against Eng- 
land required that these relations be made definite in 
order to promote harmonious and efficient action. No 
sooner had the Continental Congress convened than it 
had to determine the number of votes a colony should 
cast and the number of votes necessary to bind all the 
colonies. When the war opened, still other questions 
pertaining to intercolonial relations pressed upon congress, 
such as the number of troops, the amount of supplies, 
and the amount of money to be raised. How far shall 
the authority of the congress extend, and when shall the 
authority and machinery of the state government come 
into play? The Declaration of Independence also aided 
in forcing the question of domestic union upon the atten- 
tion of the people. In fact, the committees to draw up 
the Articles of Confederation and the Declaration were 
at work at the same time, and the former made its first 
report only a few days after the latter's work was done. 
As the war neared its close and the burdens of the struggle 
grew heavier, the question of the proper relations between 
the states and the general government began to assume 
still more prominence. The efforts to pay the army, 
to make satisfactory commercial treaties with foreign 



The Growth of Union 11$ 

nations, the disturbances over interstate trade, and 
the injury to American manufactures at the close of 
the war by the inflow of cheap British products, all kept 
the minds of the people constantly agitated as to the 
proper distribution of sovereignty between the states 
and the general government. The same problem con- 
fronted the Maryland and Virginia commissioners in 
1785, and that still greater body of men who met at 
Annapolis in 1786 and called for a national convention. 
And what was the greatest problem before the con- 
vention of 1787, and also before the ratifying state 
conventions? Was it not the proper adjustment of the 
relations between the states and the nation? 

The movement of public thought and feeling towards 
agreement on some principle of cooperation between the 
states and the general government is the organizing idea 
of the second half of the Revolution. It is the discovery 
of this idea as the common content of the events of this 
time that resolves them into an intelligible series. The 
teacher must, therefore, see to it that the student dis- 
covers this movement as cause and as effect in the indi- 
vidual facts of that time, and that he distributes his 
time and energy among these events in proportion as 
they contributed to this great movement. Some gave 
little, some gave much, and they are to be judged 
accordingly. 

Union on Basis of Sovereignty of the State. The 
Declaration of Independence expressly asserted the 
sovereignty of the people of the thirteen colonies as a 
whole with reference to England, and, by implication, 
with reference to the rest of the world. Public senti- 
ment was not divided by state lines on the question of 
independence; but when the Articles of Confederation 
brought to the front questions involving the relations of 



n6 Organization of American History 

the states to the general government on subjects that 
did not primarily touch the conflict with England, it was 
found in congress and among the people that no such 
unanimity of sentiment prevailed as to the principle on 
which the relation should be permanently established. 
This difference caused the congress to delay over a year 
before adopting the Articles. It was found impossible 
to carry the principle of national sovereignty, which 
controlled, in the main, foreign affairs, into the domain 
of domestic questions; and the more public sentiment 
was sounded, the more it became evident that the states 
must be more or less sovereign in home affairs. From. 
1775 to 1785 the sovereignty of the state on internal 
questions was generally agreed upon. This is the first 
phase of domestic union, — the first part of the second 
half of the Revolution. The Articles of Confederation 
embody the progress made. 

The growth of domestic union did not keep pace with 
union against England. In the first place, the colonies 
had been undergoing, for a generation or more before 
the Revolution, a change of feeling toward the mother 
country. This we saw in the study of each group of 
colonies. Besides, the first phase of union against 
England had to prove itself a failure as a means of obtain- 
ing a redress of grievances before the people could see 
the necessity of a permanent union based upon purely 
American interests. Of course, no such union could 
arise so long as they were struggling for the Rights of 
Englishmen. The habit of cooperating against England 
was fifteen years old before the germs of permanent 
domestic union began to grow. Again, from 1775 to 
1783 the interest in the questions of domestic confed- 
eration was entirely secondary, as we have seen, and 
in many cases arose out of conditions which were likely 



The Growth of Union ny 

to disappear with the return of peace. Two causes 
operated to prevent internal union from keeping pace. 
One was the people's inbred jealousy of any authority 
that seemed to have even the appearance of centraliza- 
tion. This was not an unnatural fear, for they had no 
other experience and no other example than that offered 
by England. The other lies in the fact of the peculiar 
environment of the colonial era out of which the colonies 
were trying to emerge. The people were attached to 
their local institutions, and scarcely a man in 1783 loved 
America more than his state. It was a most difficult 
problem to lead the people to repose a portion of their 
confidence and affection in a new system of government. 
For these reasons the Articles of Confederation could 
not and did not embody as high a degree of domestic 
union as did the Declaration. Theoretically and prac- 
tically, the states held more sovereignty than the nation 
so far as internal questions were concerned. 

The sovereignty of the state, therefore, is the dominant 
idea of this sub-period, and gives historical continuity to 
its events and performs for the teacher the pedagogical 
functions of organization. This idea furnishes the main 
content for all the events of importance touching the 
relations between the states and the general government. 
It is the great idea that controlled this class of events 
during that time; they came in obedience to it, and in 
turn reacted on public sentiment so as to modify this 
law of their being. The sovereignty of the state is the 
fundamental doctrine of the Articles of Confederation, 
and interprets them and the acts done under them. 
Whatever can be pointed out as defects in the Articles, and 
as failures in the administration under them, are to 
be interpreted by this principle and its corresponding 
sentiment. Not only do they stand as defects of the 



Ii8 Organization of American History 

general government, but they took hold of men's minds 
long afterward, and held them in a powerful grip under 
the name of " States Rights." These facts stand in the 
student's mind as having a common content; also he 
will readily see that some of them contain more of this 
content than do others. Thus, this study enables him 
to give each of these facts its true rank in the series. 
The knowledge of this by the teacher before the student 
begins the series will be of great service in guiding the 
work so as to secure economy of time and energy. 

Union on Basis of Sovereignty of the Nation. No 
doubt the careful student has observed, in the series of 
events just studied, this difference: that, although state 
sovereignty is the main content of these events so far as 
their cause is concerned, yet their effects often tended to 
draw the people away from this principle as the basis of 
union. This is particularly true of the events between 
the closing years of the war and 1787. We may say, 
then, that the student, observing one of these events, looks 
through it in two directions, — back toward state sov- 
ereignty as its remote or immediate cause, and forward 
toward national sovereignty as the effect it had on public 
sentiment. It is true that the effects of these events 
are the negation of state sovereignty, and are, therefore, 
legitimately interpreted by it until the growth of public 
sentiment takes on a positive form and moves consciously 
toward the sovereignty of the nation. The genesis of a 
new idea is often found in the negation of some idea that 
is worn out or fails to meet the requirements of the 
changed circumstances arising out of new conditions. The 
old idea, on account of its inadequacy, causes a reaction 
in public sentiment against itself till this sentiment moves 
off in the direction of the new and opposing idea. This 
is just what took place in the transition from state 



The Growth of Union iiq 

sovereignty to national sovereignty. The movement 
toward nationality was well under way by 1785 and 1786, 
and the current was not turned aside after this point had 
been reached. The struggle for its formal attainment goes 
on with increasing force through the convention of 1787 
and the ratifying conventions of the states. 

The Process and Material of Organization. The sug- 
gestion has already been made that in the first phase of 
domestic union many of the facts pointed to a new form of 
union, and must be so interpreted. We do not violate, but 
obey, a law of historical growth when we connect with 
the new growth some of the events that were found to be 
members of a different series on the basis of a different 
idea. When the student is interpreting events in the light 
of the idea of state sovereignty, the teacher should lead 
him to discover the tendency of the new movement as it 
now and then appears in the midst of other effects. This 
is necessary in order to compass the full significance, not 
only of the facts, but of the principle itself. What an idea 
like state sovereignty is potentially can only be discovered 
by watching it transform itself through external facts into 
reality, even if a part of this reality is the negation of the 
principle itself. The discovery of the trend of public 
sentiment is real history study, and need not be affected 
by opinions which the student may have as to what 
ought to have been. The true study of history consists 
in discovering what did result, regardless of what should 
have resulted. By the nature of things, people differ in 
their opinions of what should be done or what results 
should occur from certain causes, but there should be little 
difficulty in discovering what did occur. 

As far back as 1776 the idea of a national government 
was suggested by Thomas Paine, and also by Rutledge 
of South Carolina. But the first years of the war so 



I20 Organization of American History 

unified public sentiment and effort that the defects of the 
form of government did not appear in their completeness 
till near its close. In 1780 the idea met with frequent 
individual and public expression; the Boston convention of 
New England delegates, and, later in the year, the Hart- 
ford meeting of New England and New York delegates, 
called for a new government and sent a circular letter to 
the states and to Washington. In the same year Hamilton 
wrote his famous Duane letter; in 1781, a series of papers 
called the Continentalist, a name suggestive of nationality; 
also a plan for a national bank. Paine renewed his old 
suggestion. In the next year Washington took a hand in 
the agitation, and wrote to many prominent men urging 
the need of a new constitution. Twice during this year 
congress called for larger powers from the states, and a 
pamphlet argued for a congress to frame a new govern- 
ment; in 1783, the New York legislature was moved to 
ask congress to call a convention to revise the Articles of 
Confederation. At this time it became fashionable in the 
army and in the taverns and coffee-houses to drink the 
toasts: "A hoop to the barrel," and " Cement to the 
Union." The formation of the Society of the Cincinnati, 
the agitation over the cession of western lands, and the 
proposal of an impost by congress also aided in molding 
public sentiment. This agitation extended over the 
next year, and to it may be added the influence exerted 
by Noah Webster's essays in favor of stronger government. 
By the time 1 785 is reached we may say that the current 
was setting strongly toward nationality. The business 
men of New York city called for adequate powers for 
congress; the merchants and mechanics of Boston ad- 
dressed congress and the state legislatures to urge that the 
former be given power over commerce; the merchants also 
opened correspondence with other commercial centers to 



The Growth of Union 121 

enlist them in the cause. Governor Bowdoin addressed 
the General Court on the question and suggested a 
convention of the states to consider the subject. The 
General Court resolved in favor of such a convention and 
instructed the governor to communicate with other 
executives, and directed their delegates in congress to 
move in the matter. • In this same year the people of 
Pennsylvania, through a popular convention, demanded 
more power for the general government, and later in the 
year the governor and council called for a new constitution. 
Early in this year of healthy agitation the commissioners 
from Maryland and Virginia met at Alexandria, and, with 
the advice of Washington, agreed to uniform rules for 
their trade, — a work which suggested the desirability and 
the necessity of a wider application of common com- 
mercial regulations. 

In 1786 came the Annapolis convention with wider rep- 
resentation and with aims still more national than the 
Alexandria meeting. Hamilton wrote the convention's 
report, calling for a national convention to revise the 
Articles of Confederation; this was widely circulated 
and commanded the attention of thoughtful men in all 
parts of the country. In the winter of 1786 and 1787 
New England was shaken to its center, and the rest of 
the states startled, by the insurrection of Shays; this 
made men and states willing to go to a national conven- 
tion who otherwise would not have gone. The mut- 
terings of discontent were coming over the mountains 
from Kentucky and Tennessee; already the Spaniards 
had seized goods of westerners on the lower Mississippi, 
and General Clark at Vincennes had retaliated and was 
thought to be preparing to attack the Spaniards. These 
events were rapidly consolidating public opinion in favor 
of the great convention soon to meet at Philadelphia, 



122 Organization of American History 

and no doubt forced Washington to reconsider his refusal 
to be a delegate. The state ratifying conventions con- 
stitute the last series in the great movement toward 
national sovereignty as the basis of union. They are 
also the last acts in the drama of the American Revolution. 
With their consummation, the form of a nation comes 
into being. 

The Limit to the Process of Organizing a Period. With 
the close of the period under discussion, the more formal 
treatment of historical organization ceases; therefore, the 
question of the limit of this process as applied to periods 
may be properly raised at this point. While no limit 
to this process has been assigned in preceding discussions, 
it is really inferred from the nature of the process itself 
that it must of necessity come to an end when a content 
has been found so specific and particularizing as to belong 
to one event only. With this content alone in conscious- 
ness, the event or other fact stands in mental isolation, 
or as nearly so as can be. This must be, for we have 
seen over and over that resemblance in content is the only 
basis of organization. Without it there is no integration, 
and likewise no coordination and no subordination; for 
there exists no common standard for testing the relative 
value of events; therefore no ranking can occur. This 
sort of content has little value except to give concrete and 
individualized details. It must not be inferred, however, 
that concrete details have no organizing power. Whether 
or not they have depends upon the power of teacher 
and student to trace general principles or phases of 
institutional growth into concrete details. Nothing can 
be more concrete and individualized than the ideas of 
some one particular man, as Roger Sherman in the con- 
vention of 1 7 8 7 . And yet this concrete and individualized 
embodiment may, at the same time, be the sentiment of 



The Growth of Union 123 

a majority of the country; it is none the less concrete 
because found elsewhere, and not the less universal because 
found in the heart and mind of a given man. The iso- 
lated concrete fact, while not more concrete than the 
example just given, has less historical value, because it 
cannot aid in the interpretation of other concrete facts 
like itself. When, therefore, the interpretation of an 
event proceeds until isolated content is all that is obtained, 
the process ought to cease. 

But between this extreme limit and what has been 
done with this period in passing from the most general 
idea of union down to the four coordinate and more con- 
crete forms of union, there may be found several other 
shades of thought and feeling in each of these forms. 
For instance, this can be done easily for the first form 
of union extending from 1761 to 1775. No doubt, union 
to secure the Rights of Englishmen was differentiated 
by public opinion into the various elements that entered 
into the people's conception of English rights, such as 
trial by jury, right of internal taxation, and finally the 
right to resist even external taxation under the guise 
of the tax on tea. Each of these ideas may be found 
as the content of a smaller series of events than the 
series unified by the Rights of Englishmen. In a simi- 
lar way it is quite possible to discover phases of thought 
and feeling in the growth of union on the basis of Rights 
of Man, the sovereignty of the state, and the sovereignty 
of the nation. These more specific and possible forms 
of thought and feeling will not be discussed at length, for 
the reason that it is the aim to illustrate the nature and 
principles of the process of organization rather than to 
deal with historical material as such. It is believed that 
the organization of the period of the Revolution has been 
carried far enough to enable the teacher and student to push 



124 Organization of American History 

the process into the more specific phases already indicated. 

The Result. If the teacher has guided the student 
through the period by the light of the principles 
of organization, the result, on the side of knowledge, 
should stand about as follows: i. The facts and events 
of the Revolution stand in his mind united into a 
series by the presence of a common idea, — the 
growth of union; some facts stand out with great 
fullness, while others fade out of importance till 
they have hardly a rank or place in the series. 2. His 
view of the ideas and events of this period as a whole 
gives two parts, two great series, each with its members 
joined and ranked by phases of the growth of union. In 
the first of these two series, the animating idea is union 
against England, and in the second, it is union on domestic 
questions. 3. A closer inspection will show that the 
student has broken each of these phases of union into two 
parts and reorganized each part into a new series on a new 
basis ; union against England and its events are separated 
into two parts: union for the Rights of Englishmen, and 
union for the Rights of Man; union on domestic ques- 
tions and the events attending it are separated into union 
on the basis of state sovereignty, and union on the basis 
of national sovereignty. Thus, the period stands in the 
student's mind an orderly arrangement of ideas of varying 
degrees of generality. Each fact stands illuminated by 
a series of ideas rising from the lowest to the highest. 
Each fact has a lowest idea that isolates it from all others, 
and a higher idea that gives it fellowship with a series of 
like content, and so on upward through changing degrees 
of generality until the highest idea is reached, an idea 
that binds it to all the facts of the period. 

Perhaps a concrete illustration of the idea of gradations 
of generality in the content of historical material may 



The Growth of Union 12$ 

serve to make it clearer. The Declaration of Rights, 
the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confed- 
eration, and the Constitution are four great cardinal 
facts in this period. Each of these contains a phase of 
thought that not only separates it from the others, but 
a phase so specialized as to take it out of any series to 
which other more general ideas may have assigned it. 
But as soon as we put into the Declaration of Rights 
the idea of union for the Rights of Englishmen, it imme- 
diately coalesces with a wide range of events — those from 
1 76 1 to 1775 — having the same content. The same is 
true of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of 
Confederation, and the Constitution. If we think of the 
Declaration of Independence as expressing the idea of 
union against England, it and the other members of its 
series — most of the events between 1775 and 1783 — im- 
mediately join hands with the Declaration of Rights and 
its series of facts, the two series thus forming one. We 
may find in the Articles of Confederation the idea of 
domestic union, and if we do so it and the facts of our 
history immediately associated with it combine with the 
Constitution and its associated events so as to form a 
greater series. If we look upon the Constitution as mark- 
ing the progress of the idea of union in general, it not only 
joins hands with the Articles of Confederation and the two 
great Declarations, but also with all the main facts of the 
American Revolution. 

What the Revolution Contributed. In no other period 
are the results cleaner cut, and, therefore, more 
obvious : 

1. England's shortsighted policy drove the colonies 
into a rebellion which resulted in the acknowledgment of 
their success. A world-wide change was produced in 
England's method of treating her colonies. 



126 Organization of American History 

2. A new nation — the American Republic — with un- 
tried problems was admitted to the sisterhood of states. 
Not one of these states but saw shipwreck for the new 
nation. Her own sons were at times doubtful. 

3 . The one great result was the spirit of union which the 
Revolution wrought out and to which the Constitution 
gave expression. It will be a part of the problem of 
succeeding periods to trace this spirit of national union 
down to our own day. 

4. A result of far-reaching importance was the growth 
of religious freedom. This feeling had taken its rise 
in the colonial period but in the Revolution it gained in 
strength till it became embodied in the Constitution. 
This spirit has kept on growing to the present day, when 
men of any religious belief or of no belief expect this 
as a personal right. 

5. Out of this period came a nation with new industrial 
problems. The restrictions by which England limited 
production in certain commodities were removed, and a 
new era opened. Even in this period we find a tendency 
among our people to push westward, a tendency which 
grew to tremendous proportions after the Civil War. 

6. The Revolution raised a spirit in favor of the 
rights of man which reached the slave. The northern 
states, where slavery was not deep-rooted, easily, but 
gradually, freed their slaves. But in the South, slavery 
awaited the pen of the Emancipator, and even now its 
effects still occupy attention. 

7. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitu- 
tion were the two great formulated results of this period. 
The former affected, and continues to influence, political 
life in America. Its doctrines in that age were almost 
universally accepted by the Whigs in England and in 
America. It is the most concise and accurate statement 



The Growth of Union 12 J 

ever written of the rights of man, including the right of 
revolution. The Constitution is the embodiment of 
the practical experience of the Americans, as Englishmen 
and as Americans. Principles can be found in it older 
than the Bill of Rights, older than Magna Charta, or 
older than William the Conqueror. This constitution 
was put together on the principle of divided respon- 
sibility. In this respect it has been faithfully followed 
by every state constitution since 1787. 

8. In the discussions over the questions raised in the 
Constitutional Convention and in the ratifying con- 
ventions the doctrines of the "Rights of the States" 
came to the front. This doctrine became the basis of the 
foundation of a great political party and received its great- 
est development leading up to the Civil War. 



PERIOD OF THE DEVELOPMENT 
OF NATIONALITY 

The Period as a Whole 

General Nature of the Period. The student will find 
greater difficulty in discovering the dominant idea of this 
period than in the case of the Revolution. The move- 
ments in the preceding period were rapid; thought and 
passion centered around a few definite propositions and 
moved with such rapidity that extraneous matters were 
pushed aside. The struggle, in its externals, was dramatic 
and absorbing, as is usually the case with revolutions. 
Because of this very intensity, the period was a short one, 
if measured in the number of its years. 

The movement of ideas in the new period is much 
slower. Besides their more evolutionary growth, ideas 
and institutions are constantly becoming more complex, 
and therefore distracting elements more frequently obtrude 
themselves. Again, the period chronologically covers 
nearly three times as much ground as the Revolution. 

The Revolution had developed the form of a nation, and 
expressed the result in the Constitution. In the begin- 
ning, the forms set up by this instrument did not have 
a perfected national spirit to animate them. The struggle 
with England had produced a good degree of national 
sentiment on foreign questions, and the campaign for 
the sovereignty of the nation as a basis of union had 
done much toward making us a nation on purely domes- 
tic interests. The growth of national sentiment, with 
reference to foreign questions, had been more rapid and 
substantial than on domestic matters. The Declaration 
of Independence, relating primarily to foreign affairs, 
was more nationalistic in its tone and propositions than 

128 



Development of Nationality 129 

the Articles of Confederation which were concerned pri- 
marily with domestic questions; and the Articles them- 
selves conferred more powers on congress in regard to 
foreign, than to home, relations. While the united 
strength of these two phases of sentiment did not really 
make the thirteen states a nation, yet the germs of one 
had begun to take root. 

The long struggle in the constitutional convention and 
the longer and severer battle for ratification in the states, 
accompanied by anger, jealousy, suspicion, charges of 
bad motives, and threats of alliances, go to show that the 
preliminary victory for nationality was won with difficulty. 
It may aid us to judge the true strength of the new move- 
ment if we recall that the Constitution would probably 
have been defeated had the congress of the Confederation 
thrown its influence in the scale against it, had Washington 
refused his support, or had it been sent to the people for 
ratification by direct vote. But even as it was, the feeling 
for stronger government was not general enough to get the 
Constitution through the great states of Massachusetts, 
Virginia, and New York, without a definite understanding 
that it was to be freely amended. 

The spirit of nationality requires that the people's 
thought break over the narrow limits of state lines and 
contemplate the broader and deeper questions that arise 
out of the life of the whole. This broadening of thought 
does not belong to political problems alone, but to all 
forms of institutional life. The spirit of nationality does 
not require the people to be a unit on all the details of 
organization and the means of accomplishing specific ends, 
but it does require them to transfer a portion of their 
admiration and affection from the state and locality to 
the nation ; that they see the highest interests of the state 
and neighborhood in the highest good of the whole. 



I jo Organization of American History 

Nationality is not only a sentiment, but a principle of 
action for the statesman. It declares that national 
functions shall be exercised for the good of the whole, and 
looks upon the nation as the most appropriate and efficient 
agent in the performance of such functions. The senti- 
ment and principle are interactive; each is the cause and 
the effect of the other. 

It fell to our history between 1789 and 1870 to produce 
this result. It was in this time that the germs of national 
life, which originated mainly in the last phase of the 
Revolution, were so developed as to constitute a new era in 
our institutional evolution. So wide is its sweep and deep 
its current that the stream of nationality is the greatest, 
the most fundamental, movement that took place between 
these two dates. It is the presence of this principle and 
sentiment that constitutes this a period in American 
history. There were other mighty agencies at work 
during this time; some were in harmony with nation- 
ality, and others were in deadly conflict with it; yet they 
were all either absorbed or destroyed by this dominant one. 

The Phases of the Period. If the above propositions 
are true, it follows that the growth of the spirit of nation- 
ality is the 'organizing idea for the period, and that its 
phases will furnish the organizing principle for the sub- 
periods. These are as follows: 

Relations between Nationality and Democracy, 1789-1840. 

1. A Period of Conflict, 1789 -1803. 

2. The Mutual Approach of Nationality and Democracy, 

1800-1820. 

3. Fusion of Nationality and Democracy Working out 

its Results, 1 8 16-1840. 
Relations between Nationality and Slavery, 1 820-1 870. 

1. Slavery Gradually Grows Hostile to Nationality, 1820- 

1840. 

2. Sectionalization of Interests and Sentiments, 1835- 

1860. 

3. Battle with Slavery and Triumph of Nationality, 1860- 

1870. 



RELATIONS BETWEEN NATIONALITY AND 
DEMOCRACY 

A Period of Conflict 

The Germs of the Conflict. At the opening of this 
period only the professional classes, the well-to-do, and 
the well-educated, were imbued with the spirit of national- 
ity; and even these were not all thoroughly devoted to this 
idea, and furnished many examples of opposition. The 
mass of the common people were certainly more given to 
local interests and more controlled by state pride than by 
national sentiment. Of course, many of this class had 
been influenced by the preceding campaign, and were in 
a position to be converted to nationality. At the same 
time, it was a deep conviction of the great leaders of the 
"well-born" classes that the country's only hope lay in 
extending its sphere of national activity. 

Unconscious Progress of National Sentiment. In the 
opening events of this period we witness a conflict between 
democracy 1 and nationality. The election of represent- 
atives, senators, and the electoral college formally opened 
the new era. As the student looks into these events, he 
will discover that in form and purpose they are new, and 
without difficulty will find their cause in the provisions of 
the new Constitution. 2 Probably the great variety in 
election methods will attract his attention. He should 
see that while electors were mostly chosen by state 

iThe term "democracy," when used to designate a political 
party, will be capitalized, but not when designating the mass of 
plain people, their ideas and sentiments. 

2 Just here the student must go to the Constitution and read its 
provisions concerning these processes. This is not only desirable 
as a means to a proper understanding of the events, but it is the 
best way to study Governmental Civics. 



IJ2 Organization of American History 

legislatures, in Virginia and Maryland they were elected 
by a direct popular vote, and in Massachusetts by a 
mixed method — two electors being chosen by the people, 
and the rest by the legislature from twenty-four names 
presented by congressional districts. In New York 
no electors were chosen, because the upper house de- 
manded a concurrent vote, while the lower house held out 
for a joint one. The houses also quarrelled in New Hamp- 
shire over the method of election. The lack of uniformity 
was also exhibited in congressional elections. In New 
Jersey one portion of the state kept open the polls for 
three weeks and only closed them on proclamation from 
the governor. Connecticut voted twice, first for three 
men, and afterwards to elect one of the three as a represent- 
ative. In Massachusetts some of the districts voted 
twice before members could be elected. What is the 
historical significance of these conflicting and contrasting 
methods? This can be seen by comparing them with 
the uniformity which prevails to-day. The difference be- 
tween then and now reveals the distance in idea between 
the two periods, and how much nationalization has had 
to do in order to work out methods of election common to 
all portions of the nation, and cooperative to national ends. 
The people of the whole country were made to engage in 
the same acts at the same time and for like purposes. The 
repetition of this series of events and of the incidents 
connected therewith greatly promoted the consideration 
of matters of common concern, and to this extent broad- 
ened the ideas and sympathies of the people — drawing 
them away from the narrower and opposing interests of 
the community and the state. This, on the whole, has 
been the tendency and the result of all national elections. 
Akin to this was the effect of Washington's journey from 
Mt. Vernon to New York to be inaugurated. It was a 



Nationality and Democracy 133 

continuous triumph; in one place there were feasts and 
toasts, in another escorts and processions, and in a third 
a combination of these. Decorations of cedar and laurel, 
flags and liberty caps, triumphal arches and evergreen 
crowns, bonfires and signal lights, firing salutes and ring- 
ing of bells, patriotic songs and appropriate mottoes sig- 
nified the people's affection for the national hero. The 
inaugural ceremonies showed similar enthusiasm on the part 
of those present. The people who read and heard of these 
interesting events were also thrilled with hope and pride 
over the auspicious beginnings of the national government. 
The Struggle Originates over Domestic Questions. 
The stimulus given to national sentiment by the above 
events was largely, if not entirely, unconscious. The 
fact that the growth was unconscious proves nothing 
against the strength of the sentiment, for unconscious 
growth is often the most natural, and hence the most 
substantial and permanent. We now come to consider a 
conscious movement. In this, some of the people formed 
definite purposes and called into being appropriate agencies 
for their realization, while others were just as definitely 
determined to oppose and circumvent these ends. The 
contest over the leading measures and events of Washing- 
ton's and Adams' administrations may be denominated a 
contest between nationality and democracy. This is a 
correct statement of the nature of the first phase of de- 
velopment in the period of nationality. Two general con- 
siderations prove it: the nature of the ideas in conflict, 
and the contrasts between the people who gathered around 
these ideas. In the first case we find measures and means 
taken for' the primary purpose of calling into vigorous life 
national agents and functions. This policy was defended 
under the principle of liberal construction of the Constitu- 
tion. All this was strongly combated by the idea of 



134 Organization of American History 

local self-government — the basal idea of primitive democ- 
racy. As a feeling, the fear was that the position of the 
states and the interests of sections might become sub- 
ordinated to those of the nation. The defence of this 
position was sought in the principle of strict construction 
of the Constitution, which was often interpreted to 
mean state sovereignty. In the second place, the people 
composing the opposition belonged to what is often called 
the democracy, — the people in the humbler walks of life 
who, by experience, are strongly attached to localities. 
The people supporting the measures of national import 
included the majority of the well-to-do and the educated 
classes. From interest, education, and experience, these 
people believed themselves better fitted to take broad 
views of governmental questions than were their opponents. 
In this contest the presence of two classes of events will 
be observed, — those relating to domestic affairs and those 
concerning foreign relations. The work and measures of 
Hamilton may be properly regarded as precipitating the 
conflict of ideas alluded to above. These were a tariff and 
excise, the funding and assumption bills, a United States 
bank, and a mint. An examination of the controversy 
over the tariff will reveal that its immediate purpose was 
to obtain revenue sufficient to meet the pressing needs 
of the government, and that another purpose was hardly 
secondary to this: to "give a just and decided preference 
to our labors.' ' Over the first object but little dispute 
occurred, its aim being so clearly just and necessary; 
but the question of protection aroused animated dis- 
cussion. The conduct of congress demonstrated the fact 
that a power had arisen capable, by its decisions, of 
doing great good to some interests, and perhaps harm 
to others. The result was that as many interests as pos- 
sible tied themselves thus early to the nation and became, 



Nationality and Democracy 135 

perforce, the supporters of the administration and of the 
nationalistic view of the functions of government. Both 
friend and foe to the tariff in these debates, in or out of 
congress, aided in forcing upon the attention of the 
people questions of general as well as of local concern, 
and thus contributed to awaken a national consciousness. 

But the feeling over the tariff was tame as compared 
with the passion engendered by the funding and assump- 
tion bills. These measures were explained before congress 
early in 1790, and included plans for paying the foreign 
and domestic debts and also the state debts incurred during 
the War of the Revolution. The plans for the payment 
of the foreign debt met with little or no opposition. The 
foreign debt seemed one of honor and gratitude owed to 
friendly nations, but somehow the home debt was not 
quite in the same category. Many, in and out of congress, 
argued against paying the face value of the obligation to 
the present holders. Discussions on this point began to 
reveal two classes of persons, — moneyed men and specula- 
tors, and the original holders of the debt, many of whom 
were farmers, laborers, and former soldiers. They had 
been compelled to part with their certificates, and even 
then speculators were scouring the country in search 
of continental promises still held by the people of the back 
districts. But in the interest of the nation's credit, con- 
gress voted the measure without any distinction between 
the original and the present holder of the certificate. 
Just as the vote on the foreign debt raised America in the 
eyes of foreign countries, so the success of this measure 
demonstrated the absolute fidelity of the nation to its 
home creditors, and immediately gave our own citizens 
concrete proof of the strength of the new government. 

The assumption of the state debts aroused the strongest 
opposition yet encountered. The public took an interest 



Ij6 Organization of American History 

in the contest, the newspapers were often filled with com- 
munications of the subject, and even threats of disunion 
were made. Here was pressed the argument of strict 
construction as a means of opposition and of protection to 
the interests of localities. The debates went on with 
varying effects during the spring and summer of 1790, and 
the bill was finally passed by means of an agreement be- 
tween Hamilton and Jefferson that eastern votes should 
give the national capital to the South, and southern votes 
should carry the assumption of the state debts. Out of 
this conflict came two enduring results: 1. The location 
and establishment of the capital, whose life and environ- 
ment testify to the aspiration of the people after a truly 
national existence, and where there is gathered the external 
evidence of a national organization. 2. The conscious- 
ness that the assumption bill was a purposed and extraor- 
dinary stretch of national authority. This result gave 
satisfaction to some and alarm to others. Virginia's legis- 
lature voted that assumption was "dangerous to the rights 
of the people." 

After assumption, the nation needed more revenue than 
the tariff supplied. Hamilton proposed an excise on dis- 
tilled liquors. It met opposition, but not on the ground 
of being unconstitutional, for the strict constructionist 
could find the very word "excise" in the Constitution. 
Nevertheless, the people who were coming to accept this 
view of the Constitution were the opponents of the new 
measure. The ground of opposition was fundamentally 
the same as that against assumption, — the desire to pre- 
vent the extension of national authority. They saw in 
this new law a very great increase in the number of gov- 
ernment officials who would go prying around the country 
and into the private business of many people. The bill 
passed in 1791, and in 1794 the opposition of people of 



Nationality and Democracy 13J 

western Pennsylvania, encouraged by sympathizers in 
other states, resisted the collection of the excise till the 
militia, summoned by national authority, suppressed the 
Whiskey Rebellion. While the national authority was 
thus vindicated by force of arms, the opposition began to 
consolidate itself more and more. 

The last of Hamilton's great financial plans was a 
United States bank. More than the other measures did 
this call into exercise the implied powers of the Constitu- 
tion. In that time, before the unwritten Constitution 
was thought of, it certainly was an unusual exercise of 
power to call a bank into existence to carry out the 
nation's right to raise revenue and pay the debts of the 
United States. The provisions of the law made the gov- 
ernment a stockholder, and permitted it to borrow 
$100,000 from the bank. The bank was to have no 
national rival, and could greatly aid the government in 
making loans, and aid business by establishing branches 
in leading business centers. The opposition was intense. 

The people began to gather around leaders. " While 
conservatives, aristocrats, the commercial class, and the 
friends of powerful rule thus gravitated toward Hamilton, 
. . . the liberty-loving, those jealous of class supremacy 
and court manners, they who detested money-changers 
and the new methods of growing rich, together with 
the floating remnants of the Anti-Federal and State 
Rights party, were irresistibly attracted toward Jefferson." 
Thus, Hamilton's policy created a great contest between 
nationality and democracy. This is the all-inclusive 
result, and will translate and explain more events than any 
other movement of that time. 

The Progress of the Conflict over Foreign Relations. 
The discussion which follows does not purport to be a 
complete history of these events, and deals with only so 

10 



ij8 Organization of American History 

much of incident and detail as is necessary to show the 
progress of this interesting struggle and the evolution of 
its resultant, — a rising nation. Before the conflict be- 
tween nationality and democracy had fully developed, a 
new element injected itself into the controversy, — -war 
between France and England. This war grew out of the 
progress of the French Revolution. The American people 
were sympathetic spectators, because France seemed to be 
following the example which she had so generously aided 
in establishing in America. At the first appearance of 
extreme measures those Americans who followed Hamilton 
and strong government began to lose sympathy with the 
Revolution, and were ready when war came to sympathize 
with England. The more democratic among our people 
were only made stronger friends of France by her war 
against England and the rising opposition at home. 
Washington issued his famous Proclamation of Neutrality. 
This document in effect announced to the world our deter- 
mination to stand aloof from European complications, and 
was consequently the herald of a rising confidence in the 
ability of the new nation to maintain its place without the 
support of any European ally. It thus planted the germ 
of a permanent foreign policy which ultimately made us 
really an independent people. The Declaration of Inde- 
pendence was the expression of an intense desire for 
political separation from England. The war made this 
an objective fact. But both could not destroy America's 
dependence upon Europe; the colonial habit could not be 
thus easily eradicated. Looking backward, the proclama- 
tion was a new declaration of independence, while looking 
forward, it was a new prophecy of nationality. The imme- 
diate result, however, was to disappoint France and her 
friends and to please her enemies. Public sentiment was 
with France and against England, and the people joined 



Nationality and Democracy 139 

with enthusiasm in the demonstrations connected with 
the reception of Genet, the French minister. The latter 
cultivated successfully the feeling against England and 
tried to turn the public against the proclamation and its 
enforcement, and finally against Washington's administra- 
tion. He failed, lost public esteem, and was superseded. 
A great deal of significance must attach to the fact that 
while the majority of the people took sides with France 
against England in a way to suggest little national self- 
respect, yet when called upon by the conduct of Genet 
to choose between Genet and France on the one hand, 
and Washington and America on the other, the decision 
was prompt and patriotic for that day. 

The more radical members of the democratic societies 
were never enthusiastic over neutrality. These organiza- 
tions sprang into existence, in imitation of the French 
Jacobin clubs. They declared themselves the true dis- 
ciples of the Rights of Man, and that the hope of 
Europe hung on the success of the French Revolution. 
No doubt this retarded the success of neutrality, yet it 
must be remembered that these societies also aimed to 
make America more democratic. Their fundamental 
cause lies in the growing conflict between nationality and 
democracy. They would have had no existence had there 
not been a body of men of opposite ideas and purposes, and 
who were looked upon as favoring less democracy, if 
not more aristocracy, in the government of America. 
These societies became the severest critics of the admin- 
istration and encouraged the Whiskey Rebellion. They 
possessed the virtues and defects of mad enthusiasts over 
ideas necessary for the complete development of American 
nationality, and were also the angry opponents of an 
idea whose union with democracy was necessary to the 
latter's permanent and healthy existence on this continent. 



140 Organization of American History 

The contribution to nationality made by our relations 
with France was greatly influenced by our relations with 
England. Troubles with England had come down through 
the Confederation. She refused to carry out some of the 
provisions of the treaty of 1783, and to give up her illiberal 
commercial policy. In addition, the war in Europe made 
it desirable for her to confiscate American commerce of any 
kind with France and French colonies, and also to search 
American vessels for English-born sailors. This injury to 
property and persons sailing under the American flag 
aroused great indignation against England in 1793 and 
1794. Measures of retaliation were proposed in congress, 
and a temporary embargo was passed. President Wash- 
ington sent Chief Justice Jay to England to arrange 
matters. This mission made the democracy in the 
country furious, as they could discover in it all sorts of 
danger to America, insults to France, and truckling to 
England. The senate confirmed the treaty after a hard 
fight, but popular feeling was so strong against Hamilton 
that he was in danger from mobs; Jay was burned in 
effigy, and Washington himself was vilified. The treaty 
perhaps saved us from war at that time. But while it 
promoted partisanship, it taught the friends of England 
that she was not likely to be at all generous while dealing 
with American interests. England missed a great oppor- 
tunity to restore to some extent the sympathy lost in 
the Revolution; but she began to teach Americans the 
lesson they needed most to learn: that nothing but self- 
interest would control European nations in dealing with 
America. Of course, this lesson was not fully mastered 
till we had another experience with France, and a decisive 
one with England. 

The second experience with France came in the adminis- 
tration of John Adams. The French had indulged in the 



Nationality and Democracy 141 

pastime of capturing American vessels, and now looked 
upon Jay's treaty as an insult. They also resented the re- 
call of Minister Monroe — a Democrat — and refused to re- 
ceive C. C. Pinckney instead, or any other minister. In 
1797 Gerry and Marshall were sent to join Pinckney. 
The Directory kept them waiting while its agents, X, Y, 
and Z, tried to secure a bribe of £50,000 as the condition 
of French favor. The ringing message of President Adams 
and the publication of the X, Y, Z correspondence kindled 
a flame of indignation. Democratic friendship for France 
was almost silenced ; democracy was beginning to learn its 
lesson. Measures for war were rapidly pushed forward in 
the spring and summer of 1798 ; they included a land force, 
with Washington as commander-in-chief, and a further 
equipment of the navy. The war spirit ran high, and 
addresses of congratulation and expressions of enthusi- 
astic support poured in on President Adams. The black 
cockade superseded the French tricolor in popular favor, 
and the elections of 1789 indicated a rising Federal 
tide. Subscriptions to extreme democratic papers fell off, 
particularly in the case of the Aurora, which had favored 
compliance with the corrupt demands of the Directory. 
This whole experience taught Jefferson and his Democratic- 
Republicans that little good and great harm were likely 
to result to their party from partisanship for France. 
While the term "French party" was still applied to them, 
yet from this time on it had little justification. 

Rapid Development of Anti-democratic Sentiment 
among the Federalists. The Federalists now became 
over-confident as they saw themselves floating into power 
again on a wave of popularity. They thought the reaction 
an approval of their principles, while it was rather an 
expression of national feeling against France. When, 
therefore, they tried to transform this into a condemnation 



142 Organization of American History 

of the democratic spirit of their opponents, they wrought 
their own destruction. Three measures were passed by 
congress in 1798 to accomplish this end: 1. An amend- 
ment to the naturalization law, extending the term of 
preliminary residence from rive to fourteen years. 2. 
An act concerning aliens which gave the president power 
to order them to depart from the country if he considered 
them dangerous to its welfare. Disobedience to his 
decree was punishable by imprisonment, and forfeiture of 
citizenship forever. 3. An act to punish citizens by fine 
and imprisonment for opposing the national administra- 
tion by combination or by scandalous or malicious writing. 
This act demonstrated thorough distrust of freedom of 
discussion and of the tendencies of American democracy. 
These acts, and the attempts to enforce the last one, mark 
the extreme application of national authority by the 
adherents of strong government to protect it against the 
opposition. The reaction expressed in the election of 
Jefferson in 1800 showed that the people were no more 
ready to follow the attempt to suppress democracy than 
they were to suppress nationality. The instincts and 
judgment of the people were entirely correct in refusing 
to follow either, for the perpetuity of the nation 
demanded that nationality should become democratic, as 
well as that democracy should become nationalistic. 

The immediate result of this legislation was the Ken- 
tucky and Virginia resolutions, prepared by Jefferson and 
Madison, and passed by their legislatures. They pro- 
tested against the Alien and Sedition laws, set forth the 
nature of the national government, and deduced therefrom 
the grounds of opposition. There were three main points 
to each : 1 . The Constitution is a compact between sover- 
eign states, and the national government is one of limited 
and specified powers. 2. The sovereign states are the 



Nationality and Democracy 14J 

judges of violations of the compact. 3. In cases of pal- 
pable and dangerous violations it is the duty of the states 
to "interpose," said Virginia, and "nullify," said Ken- 
tucky. These resolutions were the most extreme assertion 
as yet made of the principle of state sovereignty as a 
means of protecting democracy in its struggle for existence. 
While they called the attention of the country, in an official 
way, to the dangers of the new legislation, the people did 
not rally enthusiastically to their support. In fact, not 
another legislature voted them as the sentiment of its 
state, while several condemned them. It was thus toler- 
ably evident that one extreme was offsetting the other. 

In spite of the reaction against the Alien and Sedition 
laws, the Federalists were in favor, in 1799 and 1800, of 
keeping up a good military and naval force and of extend- 
ing the scope of the national judiciary. The latter was 
accomplished by a national bankrupt act which gave 
district courts plenty of work, and by a bill which estab- 
lished circuit courts, circuit judges, and provided facilities 
for appeals from state to national courts. In fact, this 
last measure was passed after Jefferson's election, and 
the appointments under it were incomplete when Jef- 
ferson took his seat. The extension of the national judi- 
ciary and the appointment of John Marshall as Chief 
Justice exerted a powerful influence in preventing real 
injury to the national system by the success of Jefferson's 
anti-national followers. 

The Triumph of Democracy. The political battle in 
1800 was another phase of the contest between nation- 
ality and democracy. It was the first organized and 
successful effort of the latter to get hold of the machinery 
of power. The campaign of 1800 was contested with 
great passion, and each party professed to see, in the 
success of the other, great danger to the country. The 



144 Organization of American History 

causes of the defeat of the Federal party were: i. The 
aristocratic tendencies of its leaders, which led some of 
the common people who followed them for a time, finally 
to desert for more congenial associations. Not only did 
these leaders believe in and advocate government by 
means of position and influence, but they scarcely tried 
to conceal their distrust of the common people. 2. An 
excessive dependence upon national power, and the 
knowledge that many Federal leaders advocated its fur- 
ther extension, even to invading the reserved rights of 
the states. 3. The presence of irreconcilable factions in 
the party — one clustering around Hamilton, the other 
supporting President Adams. This fact of itself was 
proof of the degeneracy of the party that had done a 
noble work in establishing power. 

No one doubted that Jefferson was meant for the 
first place by his party, but still the result was long 
delayed, and if moderate counsel had not prevailed 
among the Federalists, it is hard to say what the result 
would have been. This last episode rendered them 
more unpopular with the masses. 

The defeat of the Federalists was not the death of 
nationality. The success of the anti-Federalists, then 
generally called Republicans, was not the triumph of 
the extreme principles of their party. Whatever pledges 
they had made must now be modified by the fact that 
they are to work through national machinery. The 
operation of this machinery could not be obstructed, 
for this would discredit the party. Besides, what harm 
could come to democracy while its leaders were in con- 
trol? Jefferson's inaugural was intended to allay fears 
of reactionary measures, and to indicate a purpose to 
win over the moderates of the opposition. Jefferson wrote 
that he wished "to restore that harmony which our 



Nationality and Democracy 145 

predecessors so wickedly made it their object to break, 
to render us again one people, acting as one nation." 
His moderation is further revealed in his inaugural by 
the statement in regard to the proper position of the 
state and national governments: "The support of the 
state governments in all their rights as the most com- 
petent administrations for our domestic concerns, and 
the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; 
the preservation of the general government in its whole 
constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at 
home and safety abroad." The above quotations are 
the keynote to his moderation in making removals from 
office, and the middle course the party took in carrying 
out its policy. 

Four reforms were immediately undertaken: 1. 
Repeal of the law extending the Federal courts, and the 
impeachment of obnoxious judges. The former was 
accomplished, but the latter was only partially successful. 
It was found impossible to secure the conviction of so 
bitter a partisan as Judge Chase. The failure to intimi- 
date the judiciary left the national system impregnable. 

2. The repeal of internal taxes. We have already 
seen how the people resented this form of taxation and 
objected to the burden imposed. This necessitated 
great retrenchment in national expenditures. The 
civil service, the army, and the navy were cut down. 

3. The naturalization law was restored to its former 
condition, thus proving democracy the friend of the 
foreigner who sought a home in America. 4. As a fourth 
proof, Jefferson abolished the forms and ceremonies 
that had grown up between the legislative and executive 
departments, and simplified social affairs connected 
with his office. Jefferson thoroughly opposed courtly 
ceremonial and official parade as entirely inconsistent 



146 Organization of American. History 

with republicanism. He was not a good speaker, hence 
he broke the custom of reading in person his message to 
Congress, established by Washington. Jefferson's plan 
of sending the message to Congress was continued till 
President Wilson, a Democratic President, returned to the 
older custom of Washington (19 13). Jefferson deter- 
mined himself to set the example of one who ruled a great 
people by the merit of his work, and not by the external 
trappings so characteristic of the governments of Europe. 
The popularity of these measures and of Jefferson's 
general conduct was rapidly demonstrated by the con- 
stant accessions to his party. His whole policy made 
it evident that his opponents had intentionally mis- 
represented him and his party, or had misunderstood the 
intention and spirit of democracy. 

Mutual Approach of Nationality and Democracy. 

General Features of this Phase. Gradually democ- 
racy and nationality began to cease to battle against each 
other, and more and more to find the highest good of one 
to be the greatest good of the other. The changed 
circumstances and relations wrought by the preceding 
struggle made its continuance well-nigh impossible. 
1 . Democracy had not always been hostile to nationality, 
although its opponents so argued. 2. It was awkward 
for Federalists to oppose the new administration by 
urging it to a more vigorous exercise of national 
power. In fact, they soon advocated strict construction 
of the Constitution, thus abandoning their old ground 
to their opponents. 3. Unless the democracy of the 
country could develop common sympathies over common 
objects, it could not maintain itself. Very evidently 
the party must enter on a well-defined policy, and bring 



Nationality and Democracy 147 

into harmonious cooperation all its elements of support. 
Mere party success, therefore, tended to call into being 
an organization with national features. 4. The very 
complete success of Jefferson's party in both state and 
nation, by the close of his first administration, placed 
a vast responsibility on its shoulders. It could meet 
this only by a vigorous exercise of power. 

But Democratic leaders did not aim to centralize 
power, and continued to make their confession in terms 
of strict construction. The explanation is partly found 
in the fact that the circumstances of the new situation 
were not correctly divined, and that the growth of 
interest among the masses in national questions and 
their readier response to the sentiment of nationality 
were largely unconscious. This is particularly true of 
the movement up to the War of 1812. From this date 
till 1820 the people are more and more conscious that 
the old Jeflersonian democracy is moving in new direc- 
tions. In the analysis and interpretation of this new 
phase of the relation between nationality and democracy, 
the narration of events will be omitted as far as possible, 
since the only purpose is to reveal to the student the 
process by which these two forces began to approach 
each other. 

Significance of the Purchase of Louisiana (1803). The 
purchase was the greatest event of Jefferson's administra- 
tion, and, because of its effect upon nationality, may 
properly be taken as opening the new movement. 
After the leading incidents of the purchase are in hand, 
attention must be turned to the bearing of the event 
on the problem before us. 1. The fact of the pur- 
chase, and that no such acquisition of foreign territory 
was possible under the Confederation, may be taken as 
a measure of the distance national sentiment had traveled 



148 Organization of American History 

since 1789. 2. The purchase produced a profound effect 
upon the settlers of the Southwest by checking their 
growing hostility to the national government. Now 
their interests were secure and their commerce moved 
unchecked to the Gulf and the Atlantic states. Com- 
mercial connection was no small factor in binding 
these people to the rest of the Union. The strength 
of this growth and its value to the Union were put to 
the test when Burr formed his conspiracy. Had his 
expedition been made earlier, while the people were 
disaffected, it might have been successful. 3. The 
possession of land beyond the Mississippi gave added 
weight to arguments for a system of internal improve- 
ment, and no doubt influenced the construction of 
the great National Road, whose western terminus was 
to be St. Louis. The possession of the Mississippi 
with its tributaries gave an unlimited opportunity to 
Fulton's invention, which was soon plying the great river 
and its connections, and thus by rapid communica- 
tion aided in consolidating the parts of the Union. 
4. Almost a million square miles, added to our national 
domain, seemed to offer unlimited opportunity for the 
expansion of population and the creation of new states. 
This, with the states from the old Northwest, which 
were to bear the same relation to the Union, pro- 
foundly affected national sentiment, and even changed the 
nature of the Union. These new states are the creatures 
of the nation, while the old thirteen were its creators. 
They could not look back with pride to a period of inde- 
pendent existence. Their people had different feelings 
toward the nation from those of the people of the older 
states, and in the main this difference was on the side 
of love and admiration for the rising nation. 5. The 
preservation of the balance of power between sections 



Nationality and Democracy 14Q 

had been an object of solicitude since the constitutional 
convention. The purchase was bitterly opposed in 
New England as destroying its position in the Union, and 
caused threats of secession. For the time, national 
spirit declined in this section, but remotely the purchase 
gave a great preponderance to the free over the slave 
states, and thus contributed powerfully to save the 
Union in the Civil War. 6. Immediately the purchase 
argued for nationality by demonstrating the imprac- 
ticability of strict construction. Strict construction was 
a fundamental principle in the creed of Jefferson's party, 
but he and his party consciously violated it because it 
stood in the way of a great national interest. Jefferson 
thought his purchase quite revolutionary, for he suggested 
amending the Constitution to ratify his action. His party 
did not take his suggestion seriously, thus showing its 
lack of interest in making good one of its old dogmas 
and its willingness to be responsible for an act that did 
vastly more to consolidate national power than any act 
of either Hamilton or Adams. 1 

Foreign Aggressions, 1 803-1 81 2. This heading is 
selected to name the external causes of an internal growth 
on the part of Americans. Already it has been men- 
tioned that the tendency in this phase of development is 
for democracy and nationality to approach each other. 
This process of mutual approach goes on more rapidly 
than ever before, for the need of each for the other is 
more continuous and pressing. This growth is checked 

1 " However its statesmen might declaim about original compact, 
whatever Republican conventions might declare, the great empire 
beyond the Mississippi was to stand forever as a contradiction of 
their theories. Thereafter no man could, in the country store, 
around the post-office stove, on the courthouse steps, at the country 
fair, or upon the road, advance the ' compact ' theory of the govern- 
ment, without being liable to have the Louisiana purchase thrown 
in his face." — Walker's Making of the Nation, p. 184. 



ISO Organization of American History 

and limited by the rise of a counter movement mainly 
confined to New England and the middle states. This 
anti-national sentiment connected itself with sympathy 
for England, and thus brought upon itself the odium of 
being unpatriotic. 

During the Confederation constant complaint was 
made against England's attitude toward her former 
colonies. This was continued down to Jay's treaty, and 
hardly ceased then. The Napoleonic wars caused its 
renewal. There were three main causes: i. Seizure of 
neutral goods in American vessels. 2. Searching 
American vessels for former British seamen. 3. Impress- 
ment of American seamen. A fourth set of circumstances 
greatly aggravated the above, namely, the blockading 
and other decrees of both Napoleon and England. 

The Democracy's Efforts at Redress. Democracy is 
now in a process of transition, and tries to solve the most 
intricate problems of international relations by means 
consistent with its past profession of principles; but the 
new circumstances with their almost unsolvable problems 
force a modification of these principles. Democracy 
cannot escape the laws of continuity and differentiation; 
hence what was done must partake of a double nature 
and seem inconsistent with its past, while in fact it was 
the highest kind of consistency. Jefferson and his 
party, in carrying out their programme, had curtailed 
both army and navy, and had reduced taxation to a 
strictly peace basis. But the above aggressions be- 
tokened war, and the problem was to coerce England 
especially, and avoid war. The following measures are 
referred to as briefly as possible for the puprose of dis- 
covering their double significance: how they connected 
themselves with the general spirit of democracy, and how 
they tended to transform and nationalize its spirit. 



Nationality and Democracy 151 

1. A naval militia, or local gunboats, was the first 
measure to secure protection to American commercial 
interests. The plan was to furnish seaports with the 
means of self-defence. In the absence of danger the 
gunboat was to be out of water, and the crew about 
their usual occupations. This appeared to be a promis- 
ing mode of avoiding heavy naval expenditures. But 
even this took over a million and a half of Jefferson's 
surplus and really accomplished little by way of 
defence. 

2. The next were negotiations with England looking 
to a settlement of difficulties. England refused to sur- 
render impressments, to admit "that free ships make 
free goods," and to open her West Indian ports to us. 
A treaty, completed in December, 1806, Jefferson 
did not submit to the senate, knowing full well that 
public sentiment would resent the insult. Democracy 
justified his refusal to barter American seamen for a 
few paltry European trade concessions which England 
would not obey longer than European complications 
made it desirable. 

3. In the same year, 1806, congress passed a Non- 
importation Act, another democratic measure of coercion. 
England was injured somewhat, but America was not 
benefited; the struggle with Napoleon was too intense 
for her to notice the harm we inflicted. 

4. These measures failed and Jefferson summoned 
congress in extra session and recommended the Embargo. 
Three days' debate in the house and four hours' in the 
senate sufficed to satisfy the majority. Indeed the 
nation's pride was deeply stung, and no doubt it felt 
the words uttered by John Quincy Adams: "The 
president has recommended the measure on his high 
responsibility. I would not consider, I would not 



152 Organization of American History 

deliberate, I would act." This law proves that the presi- 
dent exercised vast national powers over commerce, such 
as none of his predecessors had dared. His judgment 
was to decide whether American ships were to go abroad, 
and his decision was to be backed by the navy and 
revenue cutters. A majority of Federalists in the middle 
states and New England were indignantly hostile to the 
measure, and the traders in the great ports were soon 
actively engaged in eluding the law. Smuggling found a 
supporting public sentiment, especially in Boston and 
New York. The carrying trade and its allied interests 
looked upon the Embargo as purposely planned for 
their injury. Jefferson had created the impression that 
he was hostile to foreign commerce, and so he found 
his record on the question standing in the way of the law. 
The result was that New England Federalists became 
more and more anti-national, and were guilty, under 
the exasperation of injury, of speaking words of sym- 
pathy for England. A few even recommended sub- 
mission to British indignity as had been done by the 
French faction. The legislatures of several states 
protested strongly against the Embargo. The spirit of 
opposition grew bolder after the act was amended in 
1809 so as to extend the power of the president; the 
law was printed in mourning type, revolutionary mottoes 
were displayed, and hints were thrown out of a New 
England convention to inquire into the reserved rights of 
the states. However, matters in New England were 
not all running toward sectionalism, for a number of 
aggressive Republicans fought for the national policy, 
and found their ranks strengthened by the patriotic 
conduct of John Quincy Adams and other men of note. 
The disunion scare, the immense injury to all American 
interests, and the failure to produce any effect on either 



Nationality and Democracy 153 

England or France led to the repeal of the Embargo in 
the spring of 1809. 
Effects on the Progress of Democracy and Nationality. 

Great results had been wrought out in this contest: 1. 
The Republican party, which was more and more in its 
composition becoming identical with American democracy 
had fairly committed itself to the exercise of vast national 
power. Democracy was therefore beginning to occupy, 
with a courage born of experience, good old Federal 
ground. 2. The failure of the Embargo and of other 
peaceable means of coercion forced upon the country 
the conviction that war was a necessity. The con- 
tinued conduct of England was producing gradually a 
war party within the ranks of the democracy. 3. The 
remnant of the Federal party had become pretty thor- 
oughly sectional, and was beginning to make its political 
confessions in terms of the Kentucky and Virginia 
resolutions. 4. A fourth phase of public sentiment 
appeared in the vehement accusations of these two 
parties, each against the other, of friendship for France 
and enmity toward England, or vice versa. This resulted 
in each party trying to avoid this cause of distrust for 
the future, so that when Non-intercourse was substituted 
for the Embargo, France and England were formally 
placed on the same footing. 5. Another fact containing 
the germ of a greater nationality grew out of the Embargo, 
namely, the rise of new industries and the expansion of 
those already established. 

The War of 1812 as a Product of the National Spirit. 
So far as the series of events called the War of 18 12 is 
concerned, the process of interpretation has been begun 
in the preceding study. The main features of this first 
stage of public sentiment may be referred to again in 
order to trace them as factors in the production of the 

11 



154 Organization of American History 

war : i . An extreme anti-national sentiment opposed to 
war and to the exercise of national power by the party in 
office. 2. A peace and strict-construction sentiment exist- 
ing among the old Republicans, and on occasions coales- 
cing with the Federalists. 3. A rising national and war 
sentiment which found its principal supporters in the 
Republican party, and in a small contingent of patriotic 
Federalists whose party had deserted them: The war 
element had the solid and enthusiastic support of the 
new states. The people of the new states and territories 
were more uniformly democratic and national than the 
populations of the old states; more democratic because 
the rough life of the frontier equalized conditions to a 
marvelous extent; more national because they were the 
creatures of the nation and felt their great dependence 
upon it. "Here no pride of statehood diminished the 
affection and devotion of the citizen to the government 
under which he held the title to his land; to which he 
looked for protection from the savage foe; which opened 
up the navigation of the rivers to his clumsy flatboat; 
which endowed the school in which his children learned 
to read. Constitutional scruples were at a discount 
with these rude, strong, brave men. . . . They wanted 
a government, and a strong government; and in the 
continually growing power of the Republic they found 
the competent object of their civic trust and pride and 
love." 1 Originally followers of Jefferson, their peculiar 
life led them into the ranks of the aggressive portion of 
the party, while their harassing experiences with the 
Indians, due, as they thought, to British agents, made 
them early and enthusiastic advocates of war. The 
above is also applicable to the mountain populations of 
the older states. This sentiment soon found a number 
1 Walker's Making of the Nation, p. 171. 



Nationality and Democracy 155 

of advocates in the national councils. Its chief expo- 
nents were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, who 
were ably seconded by Felix Grundy, Langdon, Cheves, 
and Porter. These men, aided by England's continued 
bad conduct, forced the peace-loving and timid Madison 
into war. 

In making this interpretation it must not be forgotten 
that this war party, in spite of its great strides toward 
nationality, had inherited the legitimate fruits of that 
earlier democracy which doted on low taxes, a small navy, 
and a smaller army. The preservation of this condition 
had been a great argument for Jefferson's foreign policy. 
It was now a disaster to the country. Even now, on 
the verge of war with the greatest naval power of the 
world, the democracy of the nation could not quite 
recharter Hamilton's bank, and establish an efficient 
navy. It showed wonderful progress that the bank 
was defeated by but one vote, and that something was 
done toward a navy, but the "miss was as good as a 
mile." Of course nothing was more national in that 
day than the United States bank and the navy. The 
former touched the currents of trade everywhere, and 
its notes, bearing the national stamp, were no respecters 
of state lines. But even more was the navy the repre- 
sentative of national power. It stood as the visible 
symbol of national dignity to all foreign nations, and 
ready to assail them in defence of its people. A dis- 
interested patriotism ought to have dictated a great 
navy, especially since the commercial states called for 
it. This failure gave point to opponents of the war. 
Aside from these failures, the war democracy was enthu- 
siastic in the use of national powers, as the following 
measures enacted between 181 1 and 18 15 prove: an 
embargo preliminary to war, a doubling of the tariff, an 



156 Organization of American History 

excise and a stamp act, provision for a great national 
debt, larger regular army, an army of volunteers, regu- 
lations pertaining to the use of the state militia, and 
finally, the administration was screwing up its courage 
for a conscription law and for government paper money. 
Most of these measures had been passionately denounced 
by the party in the campaign of 1800. The people were 
not inconsistent ; they had grown. 

The bearing of national sentiment on the progress of 
the war may be seen in the fact that where devotion to 
the nation was most universal, there the greatest victories 
were won, and where this was at its lowest ebb, there 
occurred the greatest disasters. No anti-national senti- 
ment could reach our navy on lake or sea, and the navy 
was the glory of the war. 

Opposition to the War. Opposition to the declara- 
tion of war was strongest in New England and New York, 
but a few votes also came from other middle states and 
from the South. The progress of the conflict only inten- 
sified the hostility of New England. This section repeated 
in extremer fashion the methods of opposition used 
against the Embargo. The refusal of one or two 
governors to allow the state militia to be used by the 
nation, attempts of capitalists to prevent national loans, 
draining specie from southern and western banks, open 
expressions of favor for England, and finally, the 
Hartford Convention. These are all anti-national, parti- 
cularly the last. It was popularly believed that its aim 
was the secession of New England from the Union. Its 
documents are thoroughly imbued with the state-sover- 
eignty idea of the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, 
as is amply demonstrated by the propositions set before 
the New England legislatures, and those recommended as 
amendments to the national Constitution. 



Nationality and Democracy 157 

The War as a Factor in Nationalizing Democracy. 

The second phase of interpretation is to discover how this 
war promoted the evolution of the national spirit. To 
do this accurately the student must remember that the 
movement in ideas and institutions set on foot by it are 
more important than its military events. And yet it must 
not be forgotten that war is a sort of seething caldron 
of human thought and mad passion. Into this are poured 
old ideas and apparently permanent habits of action. 
These dissolve into their original elements, and new com- 
binations are formed from them. War is a time of bold 
initiative and courageous endeavor. Hence, we must 
expect the forces of nationality and democracy to come 
out of the war greatly modified. This is best discovered 
by looking into the content of the great measures that 
followed peace. 

1. The national debt was over $120,000,000, while cur- 
rency and credit were in a deplorable condition. Gallatin, 
Jefferson's great financier, tried to forestall disaster by 
asking for a new bank charter in 181 1. This was refused. 
War, with its lessons, came, and President Madison, Secre- 
tary Dallas, Speaker Clay and John C. Calhoun favored 
the bank's restoration in 18 1 6. Its capital was more than 
three times that of Hamilton's bank, and it was as fully 
endowed with authority. While it was more national, it 
was more democratic ; five of its directors were appointed 
by the president, and both congress and the secretary of 
the treasury were more directly connected with this than 
with the former. In 1 8 1 1 Henry Clay opposed the bank in 
an elaborate argument based on strict construction and 
true to the ancient ideals of his party; in 18 16 he was just 
as enthusiastic for the bank, and his argument would have 
done credit to Hamilton. Clay was not inconsistent, but 
he had grown in knowledge and practical experience. 



I §8 Organization of American History 

2. The Embargo and war cut off foreign importations, 
and at the same time greatly injured American capital 
employed in the carrying trade. This unintentional and 
injurious result gave origin to a phase of economic life 
which profoundly influenced the course of nationality. 
By 1 815 America had made great strides toward economic 
independence. Peace threatened to overwhelm the new 
industries by English competition. The nation was 
appealed to for defensive measures, and the party which 
had created conditions calling them into existence re- 
sponded promptly and patriotically with a protective 
tariff. Madison himself argued for protection to industries 
tending to make us independent of foreign production. 
The champions of this tariff were the leaders of the war 
party; its opponents were Federalists and a few Repub- 
licans who still held to old party standards. But the 
majority of this party were now consciously using national 
power for the development of national resources. 

3. Again, war brought peace with the Indians, and 
population rapidly moved westward never to be checked 
till the Pacific was reached. Ohio in 18 10 numbered 
only 230,000, but in 1820, 580,100. In 1810 Indiana 
had but 24,800, while in 1820 the population had risen 
to 147,000. Thus were social and economic reasons added 
to military necessity in favor of internal improvements. 
It had been the dream of Jefferson to apply the surplus 
which his economy had created to the unification of 
America by canals and roads, constructed by the coopera- 
tion of the state and national governments. John C. 
Calhoun in 18 16 and 181 7 presented a bill to create a 
national fund for internal improvement. The agitation 
went steadily on as new states rapidly rose in the West. 
Appropriations had already been made for the Cumber- 
land Road. After the war the demand came for its 



Nationality and Democracy 159 

extension to the westward under the name of the 
National Road. So far had sentiment grown away from 
the old point of view that the national Republicans 
made internal improvements a cardinal point in their 
program, and more than two and a quarter millions 
were appropriated for this purpose during John Quincy 
Adams's administration. 

The final decline of sentiment in favor of national aid to 
roads and canals was not due to a decline in nationality, 
but because the steamboat and the railroad were begin- 
ning to meet the demand for rapid and easy social 
and commercial communication. Fulton's invention was 
successful in 1807, and at the opening of the War of 181 2 
steamboats were appearing on western rivers. After 
the war their numbers grew rapidly ; their work in bind- 
ing the East to the West was of untold value to the 
nation, although it was largely a process whose signifi- 
cance was not then seen. 

4. The war destroyed both the organization of the Fed- 
eralists and the original doctrines of the Republicans. All 
that was vital in the former was developed and applied 
by the new Republicans. All that was dangerous in the 
Jeffersonian democracy was absorbed by the Federalists as 
an opposition party. As the contest went on democracy 
constantly gained and aristocracy as constantly lost. Fed- 
eralism not only became narrow, but also unpatriotic. It 
found no place among the hardy western populations, 
because aristocracy does not emigrate. Federalism 
disappeared in name in the Era of Good Feeling. Its old 
leaders had passed away; its younger members found 
congenial company among the National Republicans. On 
its political side the Era of Good Feeling marked the final 
disappearance of the difference that had separated democ- 
racy and nationality. And while the party calling itself 



160 Organization of American History 

Democratic does go on mumbling the Jeffersonian for- 
mulae, yet the body of its members does not oppose, but 
generally favors, nationality. 

5. During the greater part of the era marked by the 
transformation of American democracy, a series of deci- 
sions of vast consequence to the development of the nation 
were handed down by the Supreme Court. John Marshall 
had been made Chief Justice by John Adams just as the 
Federalist party was passing from power. Although 
deserted by his party, Marshall was faithful to the work 
appointed for him to do. Steadily there fell from his pen 
a series of decisions touching the powers of the nation 
under the Constitution. In 1 8 1 6 the Supreme Court dem- 
onstrated its right to be the final interpreter of the Consti- 
tution, thus limiting the power of state courts. Later 
Marshall rendered a decision justifying a resort to implied 
powers in the creation of the bank; in 18 10, and again 
in 1 8 19, he denied the power of the state legislature to 
impair the obligations of contracts. Public sentiment was 
not shocked at the principles announced in these decisions, 
thus showing how much it had grown, especially between 
1810 and 1820. 

6. The war exerted many subtle effects on the mutual 
movements of nationality and democracy. None were 
more so than the effect upon what may be termed Ameri- 
can literary thought. No other department of life yielded 
so slowly to the inspiring touch of nationality and democ- 
racy. Before the war little was produced which could 
be called literature, and less that was national in tone, 
although there was much controversial writing over 
politics. The literary men were generally out of sympathy 
with the democratic movements of the period, and seldom 
found subjects relating to American life and tendencies 
to inspire their pens. The few writers were generally 



Nationality and Democracy 161 

imitators of European standards. The nationalizing 
effect of the war showed itself in the field of literature, for 
now there arose men who soon won fame for America. 
Among them may be named Paulding, Irving, Bryant, 
Cooper, Halleck, Drake, Percival, and Sprague. In 1815 
was founded the North American Review. As early as 
181 1 was established that famous old journal, Niles* 
Weekly Register, whose intense Americanism did much to 
stimulate national pride. A new race of orators, deeply 
imbued with an ardor truly patriotic, now sprang into 
existence. 

Significance of the Era of Good Feeling. This is partly 
discovered in the facts immediately preceding. Its 
deeper meaning lies in the fact that it was the culmination 
of the movement for the nationalization of American 
democracy and for the popularizing of American national- 
ity. Then was political disintegration complete and 
political animosity forgotten. President Monroe's jour- 
ney, as far eastward as Boston and westward as 
Detroit, furnishes sufficient evidence that there was once 
more a president of the whole people. 1 It was also an 
age of political integration, for in the crisis of the election 
in 1824 men of Federal antecedents and the National 
Republicans coalesced and elected John Quincy Adams. 
This presaged a new party. In this campaign each 
section had its candidate, and so strongly were the people 
attached to their favorite sons that they refused to abide 
by the customary action of the congressional caucus. This 

* It was a Boston paper that called this period " the era of good 
feeling." Another Boston paper said that "the visit of the presi- 
dent seems to have wholly allayed the storm of party. People now 
meet in the same room who a short while since would scarcely pass 
along the same street." A third stated that "the visit has a more 
direct tendency than any other to remove prejudices, to harmonize 
feelings, annihilate dissensions, and make us indeed one people." 
In Hartford the president was called a "political father and guide." 
— McMaster, vol. iv. pp. 379-380. 



162 Organization of American History 

institution had stood between the presidency and the 
people, but it was now forever destroyed. The destruction 
of this undemocratic piece of machinery shows a tendency 
of the people to directly participate in national affairs; 
they were greatly stimulated by the presence of presiden- 
tial candidates from so many parts of the country. The 
common people took a sort of personal interest, not before 
witnessed, in the campaign because of their warm personal 
regard for the candidates. This was also prophetic. 

The Fusion of Nationality and Democracy Working 
out its Results 

General Significance. We now enter upon the last 
phase of the relationship of nationality and democracy as 
an organizing idea. The collisions and cooperations be- 
tween these two mighty forces had worn down the differ- 
ences separating them so that they now practically moved 
in harmony. The most fundamental result of this fusion 
as it worked itself out in national affairs has been the 
deep and abiding interest of the common people. In 
this phase, for the first time in American history, they 
actually came into possession of the machinery of the 
national government. Heretofore they had been led; now 
they took the lead or furnished leaders. The tendency 
toward an aristocracy of office-holders now began to dis- 
appear, and new and untried men from among the common 
people came to the front. No doubt the grade of Ameri- 
can statesmanship was for a time lowered by the introduc- 
tion of so much inexperience, but the thorough national- 
ization of the common people was a result of immeasurable 
consequence to the country in the day of its greatest 
trial. No one can tell what that result might have been 
had not the common people come to feel that their fate 
is bound up with that of the nation. 



Nationality and Democracy i6j 

Significance of Jackson's Election. Old things were 
passing away and all things were becoming new. In 
nothing is the change so evident as in the campaign which 
elected Jackson in 1828. Some of its methods and char- 
acteristics were foreshadowed in the contest of 1824. 
The following brief statements will further aid in reaching 
a correct interpretation of the campaign as a whole. 

1. Jackson's followers opened the contest immediately 
after the election of Adams. The nominating caucus 
was gone, and a more popular method was instituted for 
getting Jackson before the people. The first step was for 
the legislature of Tennessee, in 1825, to recommend 
Jackson to the people. By means of correspondence, 
public meetings were held to endorse this action; the 
most notable was in Philadelphia in 1826. The apparent 
spontaneity of the movement is shown by the frequent and 
pressing invitations to Jackson to address people in all 
parts of the country. In 1827 the legislature of Louisiana 
invited him to join with the people in celebration of the 
victory of New Orleans. Delegations from distant states 
united to make this the greatest popular demonstration 
yet held in America. In 1828 popular enthusiasm took 
up Jackson's cause, and erected hickory poles in many 
parts of the nation to testify their appreciation of his 
peculiar character. The above methods were in them- 
selves telling arguments addressed to the imagination and 
feeling of the masses. These brought General Jackson 
before the people and created a personal interest in him. 
In the course of this campaign, papers sprang into existence 
for the special purpose of promoting Jackson's candidacy. 
In congress the opposition organized to obstruct every 
movement and measure of Adams's administration. 
They aimed to discredit him in the eyes of the nation. 
The student will readily see that these methods of 



164 Organization of American History 

campaigning, though not heretofore in use, and not 
of the highest order, are yet calculated to win the 
populace. 

2. The arguments of the campaign were new and car- 
ried tremendous meaning. In the first place, they did 
not bear on the relative statesmanship of Jackson and 
Adams. Perhaps the first argument used in the campaign 
was that Jackson had been cheated out of the presidency 
by a corrupt bargain between Adams and Clay. There 
was no truth in the charge, as was demonstrated, but 
Jackson and his campaigners never ceased to reiterate the 
story, till it was believed by thousands of people. A 
second reason urged in favor of Jackson was that congress 
had violated the democratic spirit in electing Adams. 
Jackson had received a larger vote, both popular and 
electoral, than any other candidate. This, said Jackson 
men, should have determined the matter. The signifi- 
cance of this argument lies in its contrast with the way 
Jefferson and his followers would have argued. They 
would have said there are two modes of electing a pres- 
ident; the Constitution does not even suggest that the 
results of one mode shall determine the result for the 
other. But Jacksonian democracy exalts the temporary 
opinion of the people above the Constitution, and there- 
fore logically throws strict construction to the winds. The 
meaning of this with reference to nationalization is very 
clear when we recall that the method by which Adams 
was elected is the very essence of state sovereignty itself. 
Perhaps the most effective argument with the masses was 
that General Jackson himself was a man sprung from their 
own class, while President Adams and his supporters were 
a different sort of people altogether, and had nothing in 
common with them. Adams and Clay, in particular, they 
held, belonged to a sort of office-holding aristocracy that 



Nationality and Democracy 165 

had aimed to perpetuate itself by the congressional caucus, 
the succession of secretaries, limited suffrage, and the 
legislative election of the electoral college. But General 
Jackson is one of the people. In his military capacity he 
has ever been the friend and the idol of the common 
soldiers; he shared their hardships on the march and in 
the camp, and in battle was their leader. We, therefore, 
want him for our president ; he will indeed be the people's 
president. There was much truth and some error in this 
sort of argument, but the significant thing is that the plain 
people of the West and South, in portions of the middle 
states, and the artisans in the large cities were powerfully 
taken by such appeals. They longed to see themselves, in 
the person of Andrew Jackson, in possession of the great 
office. The result was in harmony with their feelings, 
for Jackson received nearly a hundred more electoral votes 
than Adams. No doubt the unselfish resolution of Adams 
to make no effort in his own behalf, especially by the use 
of patronage, contributed to Jackson's majority. It is 
very apparent that the campaign as a whole indicates the 
coming supremacy of the people. 

Jackson's Rule Interpreted. Jackson's rule was fore- 
shadowed by his compaign. The cabinet contained no 
man of statesmanlike ability, with the possible exception 
of Van Buren. Jackson dominated it completely, and 
directed its work with the same vigor and dispatch dis- 
played in conducting Indian campaigns ; Jackson possessed, 
in an intensified way, the strength and the weakness of a 
frontier farmer. He recognized but two classes of men, — 
friends and enemies; these were always personal and 
never political. He felt that men of wealth had been 
favored by the government ; the plain people; the farmers 
and the artisans, had been neglected, and now their time 
had come. In trying to get at the true meaning of the 



166 Organization of American History 

events and measures of this administration, as little atten- 
tion as possible will be given to details. 

i. The inauguration was simply a continuation of the 
campaign; the noisy demonstrations attending the event 
proved that the people came to see themselves inaugurated. 
No such crowds, and no such people had before been 
drawn to witness the ceremony. One compared it to the 
invasion of Rome by the Goths and Vandals,- another to 
the reign of King Mob, and Webster said the crowd 
acted as if they thought the country had been " rescued 
from some dreadful danger." It was significant that 
nearly all the Jackson editors in the country were there. 

2. Wholesale removal from office was the first start- 
ling event. Spoilsmen in and out of the cabinet no 
doubt hastened it, but it had to come, for it was the logic 
of events as interpreted by the president. He plainly 
said, and more deeply felt, that the demonstration of 
public sentiment in the election imposed upon him the 
duty of reforming the federal patronage. In view of prin- 
ciples controlling all his predecessors, especially the retir- 
ing executive, and in view of the tendency of the campaign 
just closed, reform of patronage could mean but one thing, 
— the substitution of the friends of the administration for 
those in office. About the only good result of the new 
departure was to interest the common people more 
thoroughly in national affairs. The basis of this interest 
may have been selfish, but it had to have a beginning ; that 
it rose above the mere greed of office and partisan success 
is well attested by the sacrifices made by the people of 
the North to save the Union in 1861. However, it began 
to appear that no national movement could be successful 
without the backing of the new democracy. 

3. In his message to congress in December of 1829, 
Jackson opened his long fight against the United States 



Nationality and Democracy i6y 

Bank. He declared that it was "considered unconstitu- 
tional by a large portion of our fellow-citizens." The 
Supreme Court had decided it constitutional, but that 
did not matter since the highest court — the people — 
thought it unconstitutional. This sounds like the claim 
made by Jackson's friends when congress elected Adams 
in the face of a plurality of the popular vote for Jackson. 
In his message to congress in 1831, Jackson disclosed his 
opinions concerning the bank, "in order that the attention 
of the legislature and the people" should be called to it, 
and he now proposed "to leave it for the present to the 
investigation of an enlightened people and their represent- 
atives." This repeated reference to the people is most 
significant. Benton confesses that the opponents of the 
bank in congress aimed by their method of attack to 
"rouse the people, and prepare them to sustain the veto." 
Among other things the veto said: "But when the laws 
undertake to add . . . artificial distinction, to grant 
titles, gratuities, and exclusive privileges, to make the 
rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble 
members of society, the farmers, mechanics, and laborers, 
. . . have a right to complain of the injustice of their 
government ... If sustained by my fellow-citizens 
I shall be grateful and happy ..." 

4. The campaign of 1832 was, in its methods, an evolu- 
tion of that of 1828. Jackson recommended amending 
the Constitution to secure the election of the president by 
a direct vote of the people, a new idea coming from a 
president. He also advised making the president ineligible 
for reelection. But it did not take much manceuvering to 
produce a "spontaneous" demand for his reelection. A 
suggestion was now offered that Jackson be nominated at 
a great national convention of the party. This brought 
the selection of president one step nearer the people. The 



168 Organization of American History 

parties held nominating conventions. This campaign 
gained a still deeper hold on the feelings of the people. 
There were day parades with fife, drum, and banners, 
night demonstrations with torchlight processions and 
transparencies, pole-raisings, speeches, banquets, pam- 
phlets, cartoons, and other features of laterday campaigns. 
The defeat of Clay and the bank was overwhelming, the 
electoral vote being 219 to 49 in favor of Jackson. The 
new " court" had rendered another decision, and Jackson 
carried an order for the bank's annihilation. His message 
in December, 1832, questioned the safety of the national 
deposits, and said that rumors, widely current, called for 
an investigation. Congress gave the bank a vote of 
confidence, but the president ordered the deposits removed, 
in 1833, to certain state banks. To a secretary opposing 
the removal, the president said : ' ' My object is to save the 
country; it will be lost if we permit the bank to exist." 
5. The number of state banks rapidly increased, creat- 
ing greater competition for national deposits. Congress 
passed an act in 1836 depositing the surplus revenue with 
the states, subject to recall. Money was thus placed 
where the people could get it easily; prices, except of 
public land which was fixed by law, rose rapidly. Hence, 
speculators bought government land to hold for higher 
prices. 1 Thousands of depreciated state-bank notes were 
received by the government in payment for public land; 
Jackson became alarmed, and in July, 1836, issued the 
order that specie alone be accepted for land. Gold and 
silver moved westward, paper money eastward; business 

l This is not intended as an adequate explanation of the extent 
and character of the speculation which took hold of individuals, 
corporations, and states alike. It does not assume to state all the 
causes of the resulting explosion, but rather indicates the part which 
popular sentiment — the conscious power behind the throne — acting 
on congress and the administration, played in the management of 
the national finances. 



Nationality and Democracy i6g 

was disturbed, and confidence undermined. In the spring 
of 1837 the crash came. Jackson was just retiring from 
the presidency, but the rank and file were every now and 
then to hear the old leader's voice speaking through 
Van Buren. 

6. Between 1837 and 1840 the people began to distrust 
the leaders who brought such distress upon the nation. 
Perhaps they did not recall that, in the main, these 
leaders had reflected the people's wishes in financial 
matters. Van Buren's great remedy, the Independent 
Treasury, did not strongly appeal to popular favor; it 
was preventive, rather than curative, while the popular 
demand was for the removal of present distress. The 
measure brought no immediate support to the administra- 
tion, for it was generally viewed by the voters as a selfish 
desertion of the country by the government. 

The Campaign of 1840. The significance of this 
extraordinary campaign lies largely in the fact that the 
Whig party greatly developed the Jacksonian methods 
of stirring popular enthusiasm. While this party was far 
less aristocratic and conservative than the old Federal- 
ist, yet, as a rule, it was not nearly so popular in its 
make-up and measures as its rival. However, in this 
presidential contest it obtained so tremendous a hold on 
popular favor that it promised for a time to become the 
real people's party. 

The intense distress produced by the panic, and the 
apparently indifferent attitude of the administration con- 
cerning measures of relief, created dissatisfaction among 
the rank and file of the Democratic party. They had 
been taught to believe in the nation's ability to do well or 
ill by the people. The contrast between Van Buren and 
Harrison was not unlike that between Adams and Jackson 
in 1828. In the minds of the people Harrison was the 
12 



iyo Organization of American History 

honest Western farmer and courageous frontier soldier; 
Van Buren was the Eastern politician, and had always 
held office; Harrison was one of the people, having their 
ideas and feelings, and could be trusted to serve them; 
Van Buren was the "little aristocrat," lived in grand style 
at Washington, and had forgotten the lessons of Jefferson 
and Jackson. A popular campaign speech pictured the 
White House as a royal palace and its occupants feasting 
like the Caesars. 

In 1837 the Ohio Whig convention nominated Harrison 
and, like Jackson, Harrison began to be pressed by invita- 
tions. In 1838 he visited Tippecanoe, the scene of his 
great victory over the Indians in 181 1. Clubs and battle 
anniversaries became the order* of the day, till the national 
Whig convention named him in preference to Clay, 
Webster, or Scott. And now began in earnest a contest, 
by the side of which the campaign of 1832 pales into 
insignificance. The Harrison demonstrations numbered 
all the way from a few to a hundred thousand persons. 
People traveled hundreds of miles and processions were 
days upon the road. It took fourteen teams of horses 
three weeks to carry the people from Chicago to Spring- 
field to hear Lincoln speak. Twenty thousand people 
joined in these demonstrations in that straggling young 
village. The log cabin with its latchstring out, the rac- 
coon, the barrel of cider on tap, the rolling ball, and the 
roasted ox played leading parts in rousing popular 
enthusiasm. To these were added, for the first time, 
"taking" campaign songs, which were widely employed 
in stimulating patriotic and partisan zeal. In all this 
the Whigs far excelled the Democrats, as the election 
demonstrated. Nineteen states voted for Harrison and 
seven for Van Buren, while the electoral vote was 234 
to 60 in favor of the Whigs. 



Nationality and Democracy 171 

The joy of the people was unbounded. The Whig 
statesmen now spoke with the same authority as had 
Jackson. Listen to Clay as he speaks to the Senate in 
December, 1840, on the repeal of the Independent 
Treasury bill: "The nation wills the repeal of the meas- 
ure, the nation decrees the repeal of the measure, and 
the nation commands the repeal of the measure, and 
the representatives of nineteen states were sent here 
instructed to repeal it." This reveals the immense 
distance separating the new from the old Federalism, 
and how completely nationality has identified itself with 
democracy, just as Jackson proved the close identity of 
democracy and nationality. 

An Era of National Pride. The vast expenditure of 
energy during this period was not confined to political 
and economic problems. We were becoming proud of 
our past, and were not insensible to the fact that foreigners 
were beginning to notice our people and their institutions. 
Conscious of great things already achieved, and of the 
possibility of still greater achievements, Americans in 
this age hotly resented the one-sided criticism of foreigners 
like Dickens and Trollope. 

Perhaps nothing, in a quiet way, made Americans 
prouder of their nation than its long list of celebrated 
names. Besides the revolutionary celebrities, the last 
of whom were rapidly passing away, and the military 
and naval heroes of 1812, the imaginations and hearts 
of the people were filled by the splendid abilities of the 
statesmen who still moved in their midst. But the list 
included more than warriors and statesmen; men were 
now springing into prominence in every field of activity. 
Longfellow, Whittier, and Holmes were joining Irving, 
Cooper, and Bryant in the field of literature, and Ban- 
croft, our first great historian, was beginning his herculean 



ij2 Organization of American History 

labors; while Webster's Dictionary was already raising 
the standard of national speech. Emerson was a rising 
philosopher and poet whose American pride rebelled 
against the worship of European formalism and tradi- 
tion. Kent and Story were occupying the field of juris- 
prudence with masterly pens, and writers upon economics 
and political science were coming forward. Science was 
beginning to count some great names among eastern 
institutions, and already one polar expedition had done 
its work and returned with its story of adventure and 
discovery. Now came into existence those mighty 
engines of public opinion, — the great metropolitan news- 
papers. They were much like the politicians of the era, 
in that they tried to reflect the life of the people. There- 
fore they became really newsy papers, and at first, selling 
at a penny, their circulation increased enormously. In 
New York city the Sun, the Herald, and the Tribune set 
the fashion of the new departure. Before their advent 
political opinion had been largely molded by the party 
organ located at Washington city, and dependent for its 
existence on administrative favors ; but the new paper was 
more independent, resting on the public for support, 
dictating policies and measures for the administration. 

These mighty forces were producing a body of common 
thought and sentiment, creating a solidarity of interests 
in all sections and among all classes that even slavery 
could not destroy. Such was the function of the period 
from 1789 to 1840, and such was the result. Many 
facts touching this result could not be discussed. 
Important among these were the extension of suffrage, 
the growth of the government's land policy, increase of 
immigration, the Monroe Doctrine, party organization, 
increase of inventions, and the diffusion of wealth. 



NATIONALITY AND SLAVERY, 1820-1870 
Development of the Conflict. 

Origin of the Struggle. The mutual conquest of 
nationality and democracy reached its fruition between 
1820 and 1840. Had not the conflict over slavery blocked 
the way, these two mighty forces, now made one, would 
have carried the nation rapidly forward to that greatness 
attained only in our day. The new struggle differed 
from the old in that it was a struggle to the death, and 
although compromises were made, they only postponed 
the fatal day. 

The earliest struggle of far-reaching importance 
occurred in the constitutional convention. It arose 
over questions of representation, direct taxation, and 
commerce. The immediate cause was the fact that 
the slave states had a smaller white population than 
the free states, and hence would be in a minority in the 
lower house of congress. But why? Did not the slave 
states have a richer soil and a more genial climate than 
the free states? Slavery was hostile to population; it 
occupied vast estates, built few towns, encouraged but 
one occupation, — agriculture, — brought the white laborer 
into competition with labor consuming the coarsest 
food and clothes, built few public schools, and put a social 
ban upon the non-slaveholder. For these reasons, 
there was a tendency on the part of non-slaveholders 
in early times, to avoid the South, and even leave it for 
the North. The tendency became a movement from 
1840 to i860. After a fierce battle, the convention agreed 
to count three-fifths of the slave population for both 
representatives and direct taxes. The South was pre- 
dominantly agricultural, and, because of slavery, had only 

i73 



1 74 Organization of American History 

a narrow range of agriculture. The South feared com- 
mercial restrictions by the North. The spirit in which 
these contests were waged is seen in the repeated threats 
of delegates from the Carolinas and Georgia to oppose the 
ratification of the Constitution. 

The conditions which forced slavery to fight in self- 
defence, and the spirit in which it conducted the contest, 
constitute the fundamental causes of the struggle between 
nationality and slavery. These inhere in the system 
itself, and from the constitutional convention to the 
Missouri Compromise were operating against slavery. 
The French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars made 
life burdensome to Europeans, and they began to come 
to America. Where did they go? To the North. At 
the same time the slender stream of non-slaveholders, 
emigrating north and northwestward, was growing 
wider and deeper. The result of this movement of popu- 
lation is seen in the growing difference in the number 
of congressmen from the two sections. In 1790 the 
difference was but four in favor of the North, while by 
1820, the period of the Missouri conflict, the gulf had 
widened to forty-three. In spite of the three-fifths 
advantage, slavery had hopelessly lost power in the 
House. The battle for the balance of power had long 
been transferred to the Senate. The states are equal 
here, population counting little. Since 1789 a sort of 
equilibrium had been maintained by the admission of 
states. Seven of the thirteen states were free or becom- 
ing so in 1789, and six were slave. The admission of 
Kentucky, Vermont, and Tennessee established an 
equilibrium. Ohio destroyed it in 1802, and Louisiana 
restored it in 181 2. Indiana in 18 16, Mississippi in 
181 7, Illinois in 18 18, and Alabama in 18 19 alternately 
destroyed and restored this political equality. But in 



Nationality and Slavery 175 

this last year Missouri applied for admission as a slave 
state. The North took alarm; it was not slavery's 
turn, and, if permitted, would give it a majority of two 
senators, — enough to block legislation and the admis- 
sion of new states. Besides, slavery had encroached geo- 
graphically upon the North, for at least four-fifths of the 
eastern boundary of this state rests against a free state. 
Further significance is given to the Missouri applica- 
tion by remembering that there are but two more slave 
territories. 

Petitions in Washington's administration were pre- 
sented by Quakers, requesting congress to use its con- 
stitutional powers to place some restriction on slavery. 
The spirit of the institution is revealed in the following 
arguments in its defence 1 : 1. The Quakers were de- 
nounced as hypocrites and cowards. 2. The petitions 
were unconstitutional, because violating guarantees on 
which the South ratified the Constitution. 3. Emanci- 
pation was a curse, and would lead to civil war. 4. 
The Bible and the southern clergy were not opposed to 
slavery. 5. The South could be cultivated by negroes 
only. 6. The slave-trade was a benefit to the negro. 

Meaning of the Missouri Struggle. 2 The content of 

!The slaveholder was a product of his environment, and a 
different product would not have resulted if the people of the 
North had been inhabitants of the South from colonial days. The 
spirit born of the system is well stated by Jefferson: "There must 
doubtless be an unhappy influence on the manners of our people, 
produced by the existence of slavery among us. The whole com- 
merce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most 
boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one 
part and degrading submission on the other. Our children see this 
and learn to imitate it. — Notes on the State of Virginia, pp. 169- 
170. 

2 Aside from the congressional debates, one of the best sum- 
maries of the arguments presented is found in Von Hoist, vol. i., 
PP- 358-370. Schurz's Clay, vol. i., pp. 192-200, gives an interest- 
ing interpretation of the event. McMaster, vol. iv., pp. 570-600, 
shows the manifestations of popular sentiment over the affair. 



176 Organization of American History 

this event has been partly indicated. The effect on 
public sentiment remains to be noted. The fight opened 
by proposing to prohibit the further carrying of slaves 
into Missouri, and to free all its future-born slaves upon 
reaching the age of twenty-five. The conflict lasted 
two years and excited the earnest attention of both 
sections. Feeling ran high in Congress; resistance was 
hinted, civil war was prophesied, and threats of secession 
were frequently made. The public participated in the 
excitement; meetings were held in town and city; county 
and state conventions, grand juries and legislatures 
joined in resolutions and protests. Northern congressmen, 
in some instances, were burned in effigy by their irate 
constituents. Others had to explain or defend their votes. 

The effects of the battle may be summarized about as 
follows: i. The South gained Missouri, but Maine was 
admitted, thus preserving the balance of power. 2. 
The South lost all territory north of the southern 
boundary line of Missouri. 3. The compromise, in 
effect, decided that congress could prohibit slavery in 
territories, thus establishing the principle of the future 
Free Soil platform. 4. The South learned that the 
weak point in the North's armor was the fear of a disso- 
lution of the Union. 5. Threats of disunion carried 
ominous meaning. Patriotic men like Jefferson and 
Clay were profoundly alarmed over the situation. 
There was yet no consciousness of an irrepressible con- 
flict. 6. The progress of pro-slavery sentiment in the 
South since 1787 is seen in the fact that no anti-slavery 
advocate appeared among her congressmen, while 
Virginia delegates- in the constitutional convention and 
others were not friends to slavery. 

Slavery Nullifies the Tariff. The significance of the 
contest between the nation and South Carolina is found 



Nationality and Slavery ijy 

in the above heading. It was primarily an economic 
and social event; secondarily, a political one. The 
people generally looked upon it as merely a factional 
opposition to escape the payment of the tariff. Some 
believed the tariff only an excuse, and that the asser- 
tion and the execution of the doctrine of nullification 
was the real motive of the leaders. A small number have 
looked upon it as a struggle between leaders of factions 
in the Democratic party. These are superficial inter- 
pretations of the events and circumstances making up 
the situation. 

The disappearance from the South of opposition to 
slavery and the rise of a strong pro-slavery sentiment 
were due to the vast development of the cotton industry 
from 1800 to 1830. English invention had aided in 
creating a demand for cotton; Whitney's gin enabled 
the South to meet that demand. These new conditions 
gave slavery a fresh lease of life by making it profitable. 
It must be noted that the growth was mainly along old 
lines, — merely an expansion of southern agriculture. 
In this period no new industries were born in the South, 
and she failed to diversify and render American industry 
independent of European competition. The inability 
of slavery to profit by the tariff was not apparent to 
southern leaders in 18 16, for Calhoun, among others, was 
then a warm advocate of it. The experiment with pro- 
tection from 1816 to 1828 revealed to leading thinkers 
of the South the startling fact that slavery was not only 
unable to take advantage of the tariff, but was, as they 
thought, greatly injured by it. Very few men from the 
cotton states voted for protection in 1824 and 1828. 

The cry arose, How can the South protect her industrial 
system? This question ought to be translated to read: 
How can slavery be extricated from the position in 



178 Organization of American History 

which it has placed itself? In the search for a way, the 
old doctrine of state sovereignty, which had done service 
in former days for both Republicans and Federalists, 
again came to the front. The theory of the Ken- 
tucky and Virginia resolutions was now to receive a 
new interpretation. Calhoun elaborated this doctrine 
for his people by his famous ''South Carolina Exposi- 
tion" in 1828. He pointed out a supposed permanent 
dissimilarity between the "staple states" and the 
remainder of the nation. This rests, he held, on 
differences in soil, climate, habits, and peculiar labor. 1 
The remedy against legislation injurious to the South, 
in Calhoun's view, is a veto of it by the state. 
The next step in the process was the Webster-Hayne 
debate in 1830. Hayne promulgated in congress the 
doctrine of state sovereignty, with its accompanying 
"compact" theory of the national Constitution, and 
nullification as a rightful and peaceable remedy. 
Hayne spoke for the past, for slavery was of the past. 
Webster's argument embodied all the mighty evolution 
of national life, both actual and potential. He spoke 
for the future, for nationality was of the future. To 
casual observers this seemed a repetition of the old 
struggle between nationality and state sovereignty, but 
was fundamentally a hand-to-hand combat between 
nationality and slavery. The next move was to commit 
Jackson to the new movement by surrounding him with 
a nullification atmosphere at the Jefferson banquet; but 
his volunteer toast, "The federal Union, it must be 

1 This statement was generally accepted then, and is often be- 
lieved true now; but it is easy to see that slavery alone put the 
South in a position where it could not profit by the national policy 
of protection. Soil, climate, and natural products alone would 
not have created dissimilar and conflicting interests. The proof 
of this is found in the development of diversified industries in the 
South to-day. 



Nationality and Slavery ijg 

preserved," was the end of their hopes. Disappointed in 
Jackson, Calhoun issued "An Appeal to the People of 
South Carolina," in July, 1831, in which he restated, 
in stronger terms and with more elaboration than in 
the " Exposition," the doctrines of nullification. In 
and out of congress it was felt that a crisis could be 
avoided only by a reduction of the tariff. 

The legislature of South Carolina called a state conven- 
tion, and in November of 1832 the famous ordinance was 
passed nullifying the tariffs of 1828 and 1832. Provisions 
were made for executing the decree by force, if necessary. 
Jackson promptly issued his great proclamation de- 
molishing the doctrine of nullification, and declaring his 
resolution to enforce the laws of the nation. Clay's 
compromise tariff probably prevented a collision between 
the state and national forces. The great bulk of the 
nation, irrespective of party, applauded the president. 
Nullification as a peaceful remedy was discredited. 
Nationality was strengthened in Jackson's party, 
especially in the North and West. In the midst of the 
noise and excitement, few persons saw that the compromise 
did not go to the root of the matter, that slavery, the real 
cause of the trouble, was still operative, and was to 
produce collisions until the final struggle should break 
out in the Civil War. 

Meaning of the Movement for Texas. This is the 
old question in a new form: How can slavery escape 
its own ills? There are two reasons why it must have 
Texas. First, the wear and tear of the system in the 
older states made new lands necessary. Second, the 
South needed more votes in the Senate, especially since 
the anti-slavery movement was growing. Slaveholders 
emigrated to Texas for one or both of these reasons. 
The Americans in Texas refused to submit to the 



180 Organization of American History 

aggressions of Mexico, raised the standard of revolt, 
issued a declaration of independence, and defeated the 
Mexicans. 1 Mexico, refused to ratify Texan independ- 
ence which Sam Houston wrung from Santa Anna at 
San Jacinto in 1835. A government was organized and 
application made for admission to the United States. 
Jackson and the South favored the application, but 
feared northern sentiment. Petitions from the North 
poured in on congress against annexation. The South 
tried to make it a national question by arguing for an 
extension of the national domain; calling for its "rean- 
nexation," asserting it was once a part of the Louisiana 
purchase and needlessly given up; appealing against 
England, which was represented as intriguing with the 
new republic. 

In spite of all these reasons, opposition at the North 
steadily grew, and forced the postponement of annexa- 
tion during the administration of Van Buren and the 
greater part of Tyler's. When annexation did come in 
1845, the two sections were gradually becoming con- 
scious of a growing contrariety of interests. From 
this time on, if not from an earlier date, every question 
of importance was viewed by the American people in 
its relation to slavery. The process of sectionalization 
had begun in earnest. 

The Growth of Sectionalization 

The Process Already Begun. The beginnings of new 
movements frequently find their opportunity at the point 
of triumph of older movements. In the decade from 1830 
to 1840, democracy and nationality triumphed together. 
While these two forces were reveling in their mutual vic- 
tory, sectionalization was already raising its head. 

1 The author does not enumerate all the causes of the Texan 
revolution. 



Nationality and Slavery 181 

We have already discovered that the active and aggres- 
sive cause of this movement was an inherent weakness 
in slavery itself; that an attempt to overcome this led 
to the political and economic conflicts over the admission 
of Missouri, the nullification of the tariff, and the annexa- 
tion of Texas. 

The above contest gave opportunity to the opponents 
of slavery on moral and religious grounds. This old 
enemy, slavery affected to despise, but it was the most 
dangerous of all, because not influenced by political 
considerations. The proof that both sections were 
becoming conscious of increasing differences of interests 
and ideas is found in the following points : 

i. It is revealed in speeches of leading men. John 
Quincy Adams on annexation: "Your trial is approach- 
ing. The spirit of freedom and the spirit of slavery 
are drawing together for a deadly conflict of arms. . . . 
Young men of Boston, burnish up your armor and pre- 
pare for the conflict." Jackson pronounced this "a 
direct appeal to arms" to oppose the annexation of 
Texas. Several, in speaking on the subject, said: "To 
increase the slaveholding power is to subvert the Con- 
stitution: to give a fearful preponderance which may, 
and probably will, be speedily followed by demands to 
which the democratic free-labor states cannot yield, 
and the denial of which will be made the ground of 
secession, nullification, and disunion." The South 
Carolinian in 1844 said: "This question absorbs all 
others. . . . Whigs and Democrats drop all their old 
party differences and unite on it like brothers . . . This 
is a question not of party, but of. country, and to the 
South one of absolute self-preservation. . . . The only 
hope of the South is in herself." A call for a convention 
of the friends of annexation was issued. Their motto 



182 Organization of American History 

was: "Texas with, or Texas without, the Union." 
The idea of a convention of slave states was born, but 
did not materialize. 

2. The movement toward sectionalization is seen 
again in the rapid rise at the North of anti-slavery senti- 
ment, which, in its aggressive beginning, ran parallel to 
the attempt of the South to beat down the tariff, and 
maintain its supremacy in the Senate by annexing Texas. 
Lundy, with his Genius of Universal Emancipation, and 
Garrison, with his Liberator, had prepared the way for 
the organization of the enemies of slavery into the 
American Anti-Slavery Society (1833). This organiza- 
tion, with an increasing number of state societies, 
demanded the abolition of slavery. It poured petitions 
into congress against the slave-trade, slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and the annexation of Texas. 
The success of annexation led to a rapid decline of 
the anti-slavery opposition based on political consider- 
ation. 

3 . The progress of this anti-national process is found 
in the congressional battle over the right of petition. 
From Washington's administration, the slaveholders 
showed much sensitiveness over petitions relating to 
slavery. Now they gave an enormous impulse to the 
anti-slavery cause by refusing any sort of hearing to 
such appeals. The increase of anti-slavery petitions 
led to the passage of the gag resolutions as a means of 
suppressing them; but the rising tide of opposition, led 
by John Quincy Adams, finally beat down this barrier 
in 1844. Not only did the North hate slavery more for 
its willingness to override the most sacred constitutional 
rights, but also because it exhibited almost unbearable 
intolerance toward the old hero who waged the battle 
against its aggression. 



Nationality and Slavery 183 

4. In 1840 the Liberty party was born, and cast nearly 
seven thousand votes for abolition. In 1844 its vote 
ran up to over sixty thousand, being joined this year 
by several thousand anti-slavery Whigs. The feeling 
which led them in New York to ignore party ties and 
vote against Henry Clay is most significant indeed. 

5. In no sphere of activity was the tendency toward 
denationalization stronger than in the church. One 
cause of the dissensions among the Presbyterians in 
1838 was the growing divergence of opinion on slavery. 
A battle over slavery was fought in the Methodist 
Church, resulting in its dismemberment in 1844. Men, 
both North and South, saw that this portended the 
dissolution of the Union. In this same period the 
Baptist Church was also rent by the slavery question. 
Thus were the interests and the feelings of the two sections 
moving away from each other, and making it more 
impossible each year for the people to act as a nation 
on questions immediately, or even remotely, connected 
with slavery. 

Motive and Results of the Mexican War. Slavery 
had annexed Texas, but was not satisfied; and was not 
to stop short of the Pacific Ocean. Two things opened 
the way : 1 . Several million dollars of claims against 
Mexico and a disputed boundary line. 2. The diplomatic 
correspondence and the conduct of the governmental 
agents of the United States show a determination to 
have California by peace or war. The order which 
sent American troops into the disputed territory furnishes 
additional proof of this, and every victory of the American 
arms, from Palo Alto to Scott's triumphal entry into the 
Mexican capital, meant, in the minds of the promoters 
of the war, more slave territory. 

Many people supported the war mainly from patriotic 



184 Organization of American History 

or military ardor, some because they believed in the 
doctrine of "manifest destiny" and gave little heed 
to the outcome. However, the more thoughtful saw 
the trend of things during its progress. When the 
president asked, in 1846, for two million dollars to aid 
in making peace, eyes were opened, and both Whigs and 
Democrats at the North supported the Wilmot Proviso. 
Almost without regard to party this measure was sup- 
ported or opposed, and marks an important step in 
denationalization. While Calhoun opposed the war as 
dangerous to slavery, now he fought the Proviso with 
all the logic of his powerful mind. He developed before 
the Senate the doctrine that congress could make no 
law impairing the right of a citizen to carry his property 
into the territories. This was a new and aggressive 
position, and, if supported by the South, would produce 
a solid North. The Wilmot Proviso was defeated by a 
small majority by those who feared a dissolution of the 
Union, and those who feared no territory at all would 
be obtained. 

The slaveholders began to say that no friend of the 
Wilmot Proviso could ever be president, 1 while even the 
northern Democrats, particularly in New York, under 
the name of Barnburners, began to break away from 
their southern brethren. This defection was made 
formidable in 1848, when nearly all anti-slavery factions 
united on Martin Van Buren under the name of Free 
Soil party. They asserted it to be the power and duty 
of congress to protect the territories from slavery. This 
was embodied in their platform— the principle which 
was to produce a more complete sectionalization of parties 
than anything yet seen. On this principle, when the 
time came, the Republican Party stood firm, saw the 

1 A Wilmot Proviso man was not elected till 1 860. 



1 



Nationality and Slavery 185 

Democratic Party go to pieces in opposing it, and elected 
Lincoln President. Calhoun denied what the Free Soil 
Party demanded. On the part of the North, this was a 
reassertion of the doctrine of the Ordinance of 1787 
touching slavery, the sentiment contained in legislative 
instructions against the admission of Missouri as a 
slave state, and the principle of the Wilmot Proviso. 
It is significant that both of the old parties refused to 
commit themselves on this point. The Democrats 
nominated a northern man, General Cass, and the Whigs 
a southern man and slaveholder, General Taylor; and 
both ignored slavery as far as possible. This only 
proves that each section feared the defection of the 
other. In spite of this care, Democratic states, like 
South Carolina, threw their votes for the slaveholding 
Whig rather than for the non-slaveholding Democrat; 
Whig Ohio gave over sixteen thousand majority for the 
Democratic non-slaveholder, besides over thirty-five 
thousand votes to the Free Soil party. The Free Soil 
vote in the same time had gained nearly three hundred 
per cent. 

How the Discovery of Gold in California Aided in 
Sectionalizing the Nation. The treaty with Mexico 
was hardly made before gold was discovered in California. 
As the news spread over the nation large numbers started 
for the new land. They forsook all occupations and 
went by all routes: over the mountains, across the 
Isthmus, and around the Cape. In 1849 this hardy 
population organized for statehood. A free-state con- 
stitution was adopted by the convention without a 
dissenting vote, and it was ratified by a vast majority 
of the people. The people of the territory had put the 
substance of the Wilmot Proviso into their constitution. 
Thus, by action of the settlers themselves, slavery was 
13 



186 Organization of American History 

deprived of the richest fruit of the war. Why did free- 
dom win in the territory acquired for aid by its rival? 
Slavery had a scanty white population, and was tied 
to the soil. It had no emigrants to spare, and if it had, 
they must have carried slaves as well as themselves. 
Therefore, California was lost by slavery itself. The 
same old cause forced and lost the battle as in the days 
of the constitutional convention, the struggle for Missouri, 
and in the fight over the tariff and nullification. This 
experience ought to have convinced Calhoun that con- 
gressional non-intervention would not save slavery in 
the territories. 

Great southern Whigs like Stephens and Toombs 
began now to cooperate with slaveholding Democrats 
in congress. Eight southern Whigs deserted the caucus 
of their party because it refused to resolve against legis- 
lation on the subject of slavery. During the three 
weeks' contest over the Speakership, it was no unusual 
thing for southern congressmen to declare that the 
adoption of the Wilmot Proviso, or the abolition of 
slavery in the District, would be a sufficient cause of 
disunion. The fear of this caused the North to weaken, 
and a slaveholder was elected Speaker by a few votes. 

The Compromise of 1850. This event, as an effect, 
embodies the results flowing from the annexation of 
Texas and the Mexican war. "As a phase of public senti- 
ment it is the first conscious crisis in the process of sec- 
tionalization. Had not the conviction that the Union 
was in danger been deeply grounded, no such com- 
promise would have been possible. 

The champions of the old order of things were met 
by leaders of a new regime. Clay and Webster stood 
for the Union. Clay's spirit and zeal prove the depth 
of his conviction that the Union was in danger from 



Nationality and Slavery 187 

both northern and southern radicals. Webster was 
also powerfully impelled by the same conviction. 
Whether his severer strictures upon anti-slavery agitators 
than upon pro-slavery radicals were due to his desire to 
be president rather than to strengthen the Union is a 
disputed question. To the old leaders, the Union had 
been almost everything, and its destruction seemed to 
threaten chaos. The speeches of these two men attracted 
wide-spread attention, and called hundreds to Washing- 
ton to hear them. The significance of Calhoun's speech 
was in the emphasis placed upon equal political power 
between the two sections as the condition upon which 
the South could remain in the Union. This was a con- 
dition impossible of fulfillment. First, because the 
North would not agree to it. Second, because it pro- 
posed to make a minority equal to a majority. Slavery 
made the South a minority section; in respect to popu- 
lation, industry, education, and all that constitutes 
progressive civilization, slavery forced the South into a 
position of increasing inferiority. Every decade would 
have revealed the growing injustice of such a plan of 
peace. 

In these debates appeared the champions of a new 
cause. Here men like Seward and Chase, having broken 
from the traditions of the old parties on slavery, spoke 
for freedom and the future. Here it was that the former 
announced the "higher law," which constituted his 
most significant utterance. He held that compromises 
would avail nothing. Seward was the representative of 
an increasing number of northern Whigs; hence the 
alarm of the South at the doctrines announced in his 
speech. This alarm was deepened by the way Webster 
was berated in New England for his part in the great 
debate. 



i88 Organization of American History 

The passage of the leading measures of the com- 
promise seemed to allay agitation for a time. "Union" 
meetings were held in various parts of the nation, at 
which both Whigs and Democrats appeared to promote 
fraternal relations between the sections. The rising 
sentiment in the South in favor of secession subsided 
somewhat. A convention of states was held in Nashville 
in June, 1850, but few representatives were present and 
little unanimity found. It met again in November and 
asserted the right of secession, but this represented only 
radical southern opinion. 

Both of the old parties tried hard to support the com- 
promise as a "finality." Resolutions in caucus and 
before congress served rather to divide the Whig party. 
In state conventions the compromise was generally sup- 
ported, and in both the great national conventions of 
1852 it received renewed pledges of fidelity. But it was 
felt that the Whigs were less in earnest than the Demo- 
crats; many southern Whigs, therefore, supported their 
old opponents. The Free Soil vote of 1852 was greatly 
reduced as compared with 1848, but was more than 
double that of 1844. 

The Kansas-Nebraska Bill. The overwhelming success 
of the Democrats still added to the delusion that the 
great compromise was a finality; but the South could 
not forget its loss of California nor the North forgive the 
fugitive-slave law. The execution of this law exasper- 
ated the anti-slavery men, and led states to pass laws 
which greatly limited its efficiency. This conduct was 
indefensible in a legal sense, and was practical nullification. 
Only moral ground could be urged in its defense. The 
compromise of 1850 applied the principle of popular 
sovereignty to the territories of New Mexico and 
Utah. 



Nationality and Slavery 189 

Early in 1854 Senator Douglas introduced a bill 
embodying this idea in the organization of the territory 
now included in Kansas and Nebraska. Not much 
opposition to the application of non-intervention in 1850 
was made by either section, but the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise now raised a storm in the North which 
raged till swallowed up by war. Southern Whigs, as well 
as Democrats, supported the bill, while half the Northern 
Democrats in the House joined the majority of northern 
Whigs in opposition. The bill's majority was only 
thirteen, — a most significant vote, considering the great 
majority held by the administration. 

The dissolution of parties outside of congress went 
on more rapidly than in congress. In the extreme slave 
states the Whig party rapidly disappeared, while in the 
North anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats coalesced in 
opposition to the aggressions of slavery. It seemed to 
the North that slavery, having failed to get possession 
of California, was making a flank movement to possess 
all remaining territory. To the South it appeared 
entirely consistent to apply the principles of non- 
intervention to all territories alike. Both saw that 
possession of Kansas was a question of numbers, but 
they did not at first see that the North alone could win; 
it had the white population to spare. The South was 
weakened by a sparse population, and only the slave- 
holders with their slaves could make Kansas a slave 
state. The Emigrant Aid Society was an impossible 
organization for the South. Thus handicapped by the 
system she would save, her leaders were compelled to 
resort to force in setting up a government. The free- 
state settlers retaliated and civil war broke out. 

One of the immediate results of the new agitation was 
the formation of the Republican party. It adopted the 



i go Organization of American History 

principles and absorbed the membership of the Free 
Soil party; but the largest contingent was furnished by 
the northern Whigs whose party was practically dis- 
banded. The large accessions from the old parties added 
that respectability which comes from numbers and 
experienced leadership. The masses of the voters made 
the new party more popular in its tendency than had 
been the Whigs. The new party cast more than a 
million three hundred thousand votes two years later 
(1856), after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. It 
would probably have won had the Know Nothing party 
been out of the way with its remnant of timid Whigs. 
The fact of striking significance in the vote is that fewer 
than twelve hundred ballots were cast in the slave states 
for Fremont, and these only in the border states. Again, 
the Democratic party lost all the northern states except 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois, and 
its total majority in these four states were several 
thousand less than the total vote of the American party. 
When this party disappears, will not its vote leave the 
Democrats sectionalized as far as majorities are con- 
cerned ? 

The Dred Scott Decision. This rising tide of anti- 
slavery sentiment was now threatening to overflow all 
bounds. All departments of the government, except the 
judiciary, had been called in and had failed to find the 
remedy. Would not the people's profound regard for 
the purity and dignity of the national judiciary lead 
them to obey its behests on the slavery question? 
Would it not be risking too much to drag this noble 
tribunal into the mad swirl of sectional politics? In 
1857 the Supreme Court handed down the "Dred Scott 
Decision" to the effect that slavery could not be excluded 
from the territories. The significance of this decision 



Nationality arid Slavery igi 

lies in several points: i. The apparent purpose of the 
slave power to fasten slavery on Kansas by this means. 
2. Its complete nullification of the doctrine of popular 
sovereignty. 3. Denial of the constitutionality of the 
Free Soil principles of the Republican party. 4. Its utter 
denial of the right of slaves to be considered even as 
citizens in the meaning of the Constitution. 

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. In the course of events, 
both parties in Kansas framed constitutions, set up 
governments, and applied for admission into the Union. 
The administration favored the pro-slavery constitution. 
This violated the principle of "popular sovereignty" and 
Douglas joined the anti-slavery men in opposing the 
admission of Kansas with a slave constitution. This was 
a further breach in the northern Democracy. 

In 1858 occurred the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The 
term of Senator Douglas of Illinois was about to expire. 
He was the idol of the northern Democrats, and was 
admired by many Republicans for his stand against 
forcing a pro-slavery constitution upon Kansas. The 
Republicans of Illinois nominated Abraham Lincoln 
as their candidate. Before the nominating convention 
Lincoln made his famous house-divided-against-itself 
speech. Douglas immediately attacked this speech with 
great spirit. Lincoln challenged him to public debate 
before the people of Illinois. Seven joint debates were 
arranged. It was a battle royal, and attracted general 
attention throughout the United States. Only one 
question was discussed, — slavery. On the first day 
Douglas set a trap to prove Lincoln an abolitionist; it 
consisted of a set of questions so worded that each prac- 
tically answered itself. Lincoln broke the force of the 
questions by his skillful answers, and in turn propounded 
a set of questions which contained two pitfalls, into 



IQ2 Organization of American History 

one of which Douglas must fall or refuse to answer the 
questions; in case he refused, he would fall into both: 
"Can the people of a United States territory, in any 
lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the United 
States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the forma- 
tion of a state constitution?" Douglas replied, "It 
matters not what way the Supreme Court may hereafter 
decide as to the abstract question whether slavery may 
or may not go into a territory under the Constitution; 
the people have the lawful means to introduce it or exclude 
it as they please." This answer made Douglas senator 
again, but lost him the presidency, as such doctrine was 
now wormwood and gall to the South. However, had he 
answered the question in another way, he would doubtless 
have lost the support of the bulk of Northern Democrats. 
Answered either way it was almost certain to split the 
Democratic party if Douglas became a candidate for 
the presidency. From now on the differences between 
the northern and southern Democracy were irreconcilable. 
Sectionalization of political feeling in the South rapidly 
hastened to completion. 

Other Symptoms of the Triumph of Sectionalization. 
From the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill the gulf 
rapidly widened. The following hastened and at the 
same time signified this fact : i . One or more expeditions 
between 1850 and i860 were organized against Cuba, 
Mexico, and Central America, to obtain more slave 
soil. These expeditions were encouraged by the Ostend 
"manifesto," which recommended either the purchase or 
the conquest of Cuba. 2. Another symptom was the 
growing conviction that the conflict between the North 
and the South was irrepressible. This idea was formulated 
by Lincoln in his famous Springfield speech, June, 1858, 
and by Seward in his celebrated Rochester speech in 



Nationality and Slavery igj 

October of the same year. 1 The universal attention given 
these speeches proves that they accurately diagnosed the 
situation. 3 . The most startling of the current symptoms 
was the John Brown raid. The southern people fully 
believed that the majority of the North sympathized with 
or aided the expedition. Nothing proves so completely 
the total misunderstanding between the two sections. 
4. Among the many signs of the rapid sectionalization of 
interests and sentiments may be counted the frequent 
conventions in the South for the discussion of its peculiar 
interests. Such meetings were held at Knoxville, Mont- 
gomery, Vicksburg, and at other places. The reopening 
of the foreign slave-trade was fully discussed in these 
meetings and carried in the affirmative. The more 
visionary papers of the South saw in this, not only the 
recovery of the states lost, but the universal sway of 
slavery in the nation. 

The Meaning of the Charleston Convention. In i860 the 
Democrats met in Charleston to nominate a candidate 
for the presidency. Before the meeting convened it was 
becoming evident that the northern delegates to the 
convention were determined to stand by Douglas, while 
the southern delegates were just as determined to 

1 Lincoln's statement: " 'A house divided against itself cannot 
stand.' I believe this government cannot endure permanently half 
slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved, I 
do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be 
divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the 
opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place 
it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the 
course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward 
till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, 
North as well as South." 

Seward's statement: "They who think that it is accidental, 
unnecessary, the work of interested or fanatical agitators, and 
therefore ephemeral, mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressi- 
ble conflict between opposing and enduring forces, and it means 
that the United States must and will, sooner or later, become 
either entirely a slave-holding nation or entirely a free-labor nation." 



IQ4 Organization of American History 

repudiate him. This situation was largely the result of 
the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Not only the man but his 
principles had become dangerous to slavery. Originally 
slavery had hailed non-intervention and popular sover- 
eignty with every manifestation of approval. Douglas 
and his platform were of no more service to slavery than 
were Lincoln and his Free Soil platform. But the real 
reason is found, not in Douglas and his platform, but in 
the defects of slavery itself. 

The southern delegates demanded that the convention 
declare that neither congress nor the territorial legislature 
has the right to abolish slavery in the territories, and 
that it is the duty of the federal government to protect 
the rights of person and property wherever its jurisdiction 
extends. This was a blow aimed at Douglas and his 
northern supporters. Holding a majority, the Douglas 
delegates rejected the demands of the South; the south- 
ern delegates withdrew and organized a rival conven- 
tion, which subsequently nominated Breckenridge for 
president. 

Douglas's supporters called a new convention and 
nominated their favorite. The Republicans named Lin- 
coln; the Constitutional Union party, Bell. The result 
was the defeat of Douglas and the election of Lincoln. 
The popular vote shows how completely the Union was 
sectionalized. Out of nearly two million votes, the 
Republicans received a few more than twenty-five thou- 
sand from the border slave states. Douglas, likewise, 
out of nearly a million three hundred thousand, received 
about one hundred sixty thousand votes from the slave 
states. The North cast less than one hundred thousand 
for Breckenridge and about eighty thousand for Bell, most 
of whose vote was southern. 

One consequence of the conduct of the Charleston 



Nationality and Slavery iq$ 

convention and of the result of the campaign remains to 
be considered. Douglas fought out the campaign till the 
''October states" showed the certainty of Lincoln's 
election. He canceled his dates and turned southward. 
On the stump, in private, and at every opportunity 
he declared for the Union. While southern states were 
seceding, southern congressmen hurling defiance at the 
Union in parting speeches, Douglas stood boldly for 
the Union, and answered seceding congressmen in lan- 
guage they could not misunderstand. At Lincoln's 
inauguration he stood near and commended the fearless, 
though gentle, words of his late opponent. At the 
inauguration ball he escorted Mrs. Lincoln in the presence 
of the capital's elite, then largely southern. When 
Lincoln's call to arms went forth, there accompanied it the 
announcement of Douglas's enthusiastic support. This 
was a summons to the million northern voters who had 
just followed him to political defeat. Their time had 
come. On April 25, 1861, occurred a remarkable scene 
in the capital of Illinois. The members of a Republican 
legislature, once his enemies, were now, in the home of 
Abraham Lincoln, giving Stephen A. Douglas a most 
enthusiastic ovation, and were hanging on his words as 
if he were a political prophet after their own heart. In 
a little more than a week the country was startled by the 
news of his death. But along with this went the descrip- 
tion of the deathbed scene, in which the dying patriot 
appealed to his sons to be true to the Constitution and 
the Union. This was his final summons to his followers 
to respond to their country's call. How the War- 
Democrats kept this last appeal history tells. His 
later days had been inspired by his love of the Union. 
Thus again did slavery raise up the agents of its own 
destruction. 



iq6 Organization of American History 

The Significance of Secession. The secession con- 
ventions of the southern states were the sign, looking 
backward, that sectionalization was practically complete; 
that the interests and feelings of the North endangered 
the existence of slavery. Looking forward, they signified 
the determination of slavery to save itself outside of the 
Union. Secession was not primarily for the purpose of 
vindicating the principle of state sovereignty. It is true 
that the act of secession sought its defense in this doc- 
trine; the southern leaders often put it forward with much 
earnestness, and doubtless sincerely believed that the 
sovereignty of the state provided for legal separation. 
No doubt many people thought the primary purpose of 
the movement was the defense of the old Jeffersonian 
doctrine. This motive was kept to the front by the 
method of secession. Frequently the governor summoned 
the legislature in extra session. Usually this body, after 
providing means for the defense of the state, called a 
convention of the people which should pass upon the 
subject of secession. Thus secession was generally 
decreed by a body of people supposed to possess the 
attribute of sovereignty. The reason for the prominence 
given to state sovereignty is partly explained by the fact 
that in some states many non-slaveholders were un- 
willing to promote the interests of slavery and yet were 
devoted to state sovereignty. Looking forward to the 
meaning of secession as seen in its consequences, we 
see that it involved war. While the South was con- 
templating separation, its leaders were preparing for war. 
They may have convinced themselves and their people 
that war would not follow, yet they fearlessly proceeded 
with their plans. The national life developed between 
1789 and i860 had become so complex and so inter- 
dependent that it touched almost every human interest. 



Nationality and Slavery igy 

Although sectionalization was so complete, yet when 
this sought to express itself in overt acts, it was found 
impossible to do so without a collision of interests. 

How hard the North tried to save the Union without a 
collision of arms may be partly seen in the new compro- 
mises offered to slavery. The work of both houses of 
congress during the winter of i860 and 1861 was mainly 
devoted to seeing how far the North would make 
concession. The proof that some Republicans were 
willing to make concessions in conflict with their platform 
is found in the provisions of the Crittenden Compromise, 
in the resolutions of the Committee of Thirty-three, in 
the work of the Peace convention, and in the opening of 
the territories without restrictions upon slavery. It was 
all in vain. 

The Destruction of Slavery and the Triumph of 
the Nation 

Significance of Slavery's Appeal to Arms. How 

different was the progress of the struggle between nation- 
ality and democracy from the progress of the conflict 
between nationality and slavery ! In the former case, the 
hostile forces conquered each other and entered into 
friendly and helpful cooperation, while in the latter they 
have grown into irreconcilable and deadly enemies. 

Was the South conscious of resting her hope of success 
on the ability of slavery to cope successfully with freedom ? 
In the first place, war is, to some extent, a question of 
numbers. Where people are of the same race and nation, 
numbers are a decisive factor. Slavery kept population 
sparse by establishing conditions unfavorable to dense 
white population. We saw the stream of European 
immigration deflected from the South. Besides, there 
was a constant movement of non-slaveholders to the free 



iq8 Organization of American History 

states. In 1850 three times as many native southerners 
were living in the North as native northerners living in 
the South. Again, it was impossible to carry all the 
slave states into secession. The moral support of Dela- 
ware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri 
were against slavery. Besides, there were thousands of 
hardy men in the mountains of the seceding states whose 
sympathy and interest were with the Union. ■ To them 
slavery had been an unmitigated curse. In all these 
respects slavery had handicapped itself. 

In respect to other resources, the institution had stood 
in its own way. It had very few factories for either 
clothes or guns, or any of the enginery of war. The bank- 
ing capital of the North in i860 was several times that 
of the seceding states. Slavery placed its main reliance 
for credit upon cotton, whose value was lessened by the 
fact that it had to leave the South before the South could 
profit by it. An efficient blockade greatly reduced its value. 

The South had one real advantage over the North. The 
slave remained at home and cared for the soldier's family 
and produced the food supply of the army. This enabled 
the Confederacy to utilize its white population to an extent 
impossible at the North. This fact furnished, later in 
the war, an argument for emancipation. At every point 
the system of slavery had been preparing for its own 
defeat, from Jamestown to Appomattox. 

The Revival of Nationality in the North. The signal 
for this was the attack upon Fort Sumter. A wave of 
loyalty, sweeping over the North, broke down all dif- 
ferences; there was but one resolution: a determination 
to save the Union. The causes of this reaction were 
several: 1. The North had gone down on its knees to 
slavery in the winter and spring of 1861, offering terms 
of peace. 2. The new administration entered on no 



Nationality and Slavery igg 

aggressive measures, although military preparation was 
well under way in the South on March 4, 1861. 3. 
Seizure of national property by seceding states, and the 
attack upon Fort Sumter, thus making the South the 
aggressor. 4. The general conviction that many southern 
leaders were engaged in secession while holding high 
office in the service of the federal government. 

The administration aimed to husband this revival. 
The majority of northern people were not abolitionists 
and had no desire to interfere with slavery in the states. 
For this reason the war on the side of the North had for 
its supreme aim the preservation of the Union. This is 
the one principle by which Lincoln's conduct of the great 
struggle may be interpreted at every point. To this end 
armies were organized and campaigns planned. This 
was the meaning of his border-state policy, and even when 
emancipation came, this was the test he applied to it. 
His wisdom in this showed how thoroughly the president 
understood his constituency. 

How the Slavery Question Forced its Way to the Front. 
Whatever might be the opinion or prejudice of the North 
regarding slavery, one thing was certain: slavery was 
hound to compel consideration. The president might 
ignore it in his planning, and congress might resolve not to 
interfere with it ; yet it was the great cause of the war. 

As soon as the Union armies moved into slave territory, 
the negroes sought it for protection. What shall be done 
with them? Shall they be freed, returned to slavery, 
confiscated, or let alone? General Butler declared them 
"contraband of war," other generals returned them to 
their masters; some, like Fremont, liberated them. The 
president tried to modify the conduct of these generals 
so as to preserve harmony in the war party. 

Congress early passed a resolution that the only purpose 



200 Organization of American History 

of the government in the war was to suppress rebellion 
and preserve the Union. But events were moving rapidly. 
The South used the slave in the army. He did the menial 
service of the camp, worked on fortifications, and in other 
respects enabled the southern soldier always to be at the 
front, thus giving strength to the Confederate Army. 
Congress could not ignore this, and such negroes were 
declared free. There was some opposition from Demo- 
crats and border-state men. They feared the example 
and wanted slavery left entirely alone. 

As the war constantly grew heavier congress was less 
kindly disposed toward slavery, and emancipated the 
slaves in the District of Columbia, but compensated 
their masters. The border-state men again opposed, 
but were defeated. The anti-slavery spirit gradually 
rose till in August, 1862, congress confiscated the property 
of Confederates. This was practically emancipation for 
the slaves of men in war. The need of some such law to 
weaken the power of the South was demonstrated by a 
double sortie from the South; Lee entered Maryland and 
Bragg, Kentucky, in 1862. 

While congress was thus striking somewhat boldly at 
the real cause of the struggle, President Lincoln was 
making more cautious movements in the same direction. 
Early in 1862 he suggested that the government ought to 
cooperate, by compensation, with any state which might 
adopt gradual emancipation. He saw great gain to 
the Union, for, if once adopted by any state, the hope of 
that state's joining the Confederacy was gone. The 
matter of gradual and compensated emancipation was 
put before the border-state congressmen, but they gave 
it no support, and he was left, in the progress of war, 
to face the problem of general and uncompensated eman- 
cipation. Lincoln's great wisdom was in discovering just 



Nationality and Slavery 201 

the point at which public sentiment would justify emanci- 
pation. Nothing could move the president from his 
determination to wait until the country was ready for 
the great decree. It is an interesting commentary on the 
progress of history that the people had to be driven by 
the sore distresses of war before the slave could be freed. 
Mourning had to come into thousands of northern homes 
before the people were willing to save the Union by 
removing the only cause of its disruption. McClellan's 
great campaign against Richmond had failed; the second 
battle of Bull Run was fought and lost; Lee had invaded 
the frightened North. Harper's Ferry had surrendered, 
and the great battle of Antietam had taken place. In the 
West, matters had gone more favorably for the Union. 
Grant had captured Henry and Donelson, fought the 
bloody battle of Shiloh, taken Corinth, and was coop- 
erating with the victor of New Orleans for the complete 
opening of the Mississippi. But during the summer and 
early September, General Bragg, at the head of an enthu- 
siastic army, marched out of Tennessee into Kentucky 
and made for Louisville. Buell won the race by a few 
hours only. The excitement in the North was intense, 
and the masses began to appreciate more keenly the 
stupendous problem of saving the Union. 

During these first two years of war, England and 
France had been anything but friendly. They acknowl- 
edged the insurgents as belligerents. This gave the 
South a great moral advantage, but impressed the North 
as an action only too gladly taken. This impression was 
greatly strengthened by the warlike attitude of Great 
Britain over the Trent affair. The South felt that 
England and France could hardly afford to have their 
supply of American cotton cut off by war. This seemed 
to justify the South in expecting some kind of intervention 
14 



202 Organization of American History 

from them. There was much talk of friendly intervention, 
and after McClellan's failure in the Peninsular campaign, 
this project revived; France, England, and Russia held 
an unsuccessful correspondence on the subject. 

Perhaps the greatest cause of northern irritation toward 
England, was the construction of Confederate blockade 
runners and privateers in the shipyards of Great Britain. 
Early in 1862, the minister to England protested against 
the construction of war vessels. The conduct of the 
British government was entirely unsatisfactory to the 
federal government, and did much to increase the danger 
of foreign war. 

The loyal people were bearing, at this time an immense 
financial burden. When the great proclamation was 
issued, the internal revenue tax was a million a day. 
When we add to this the vast sum raised by tariff duties, 
the expenditures of states, the contributions of charitable 
organizations and of private persons, some idea can be 
formed of the enormous drain upon material resources of 
the country. All these burdens, and even more, were 
necessary to bring the American people to consent to the 
destruction of slavery. 

The Significance of the Proclamation of Emancipa- 
tion. This is partly revealed in the preceding discus- 
sions. Its significance, as discovered in succeeding events, 
is now to be noted. First, the act completed the growing 
separation between the administration and certain ele- 
ments in the North who came to be known as peace men. 
From now on, they began to organize to secure peace with- 
out regard to the means. Later, they developed a secret 
organization known as the Sons of Liberty, or Knights 
of the Golden Circle. Many conservative people drew 
away from the administration and supported the Demo- 
cratic party in the fall elections of 1862. While the 



Nationality and Slavery 203 

result, so nearly disastrous to the administration, 1 was 
not entirely due to the proclamation, yet it furnished the 
"stock" arguments of the campaign. An "abolition 
war," "negro equality," "negro emigration to the North" 
with its disastrous effects on the white laborer, "a govern- 
ment for white men," were some of the catch phrases that 
made opposition votes rapidly in the border free states. 
There was just enough in the war policy to give the color 
of truth to such statements. 

A second significance is found in the fact that the 
proclamation divided the North and unified the South. 
All classes of southern whites despised the free negro. 
The poor whites felt now that the negro would likely rise 
in the scale of importance if the North should win. If a 
great English statesman could look upon it as an act of 
vengeance, we can hardly expect the slaveholders to char- 
acterize the act in gentler terms. One great cause of 
exasperation was the plan to employ the slaves as soldiers. 

The proclamation, in a third instance, almost completely 
removed the danger of foreign intervention. The govern- 
ment of England did not dare face its own people, to say 
nothing of the rest of the world, with a proposition to favor 
slavery. 

In addition, the emancipation of the negro introduced 
new problems. The burden of war was so great that men 
hardly halted to consider the grave questions which were 
thus forced upon the nation. From many points of view 
it was a fearful question, considering their condition. 

Finally, the emancipation of the slave was the beginning 

of the end of the struggle between slavery and nationality. 

This removed the last important obstacle to our becoming 

a great nation such as the fathers of the republic little 

1 New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois went 
Democratic, leaving only a majority of about twenty in the 
House. New England and the border slave states saved the Union. 



204 Organization of American History 

imagined. When the Union is restored, only the effects 
of slavery will stand in the way of a new national spirit. 
Leading Military Events Making Good the Proclama- 
tion of Emancipation and the Restoration of the Nation. 

The one common content of the events of the war is 
their bearing on the restoration of the Union. Up to the 
proclamation, all events tended more or less unconsciously 
to force slavery into the contest, while many persons strove 
consciously to eliminate it. After the proclamation all 
events carry, as a part of their content, the fortunes of 
both slavery and the Union. The following events may 
be regarded as directly affecting this double result, 
without an understanding of which the result is not 
intelligible. 

i . The campaign for the capture of Vicksburg and the 
opening of the Mississippi. This occupied a portion of 
1862 and the first half of 1863. The result severed 
Arkansas and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy, in 
addition to the loss of a large army and vast military 
stores. The Mississippi states now had direct com- 
munication with the Atlantic seaboard. 

2. While Grant was capturing Vicksburg, Buell and 
Rosecrans were driving Bragg out of Kentucky back into 
the mountains of Tennessee. The leading battles were 
Perryville and Stone River. The moral effect was 
depressing to the South. 

3. Just as Grant was receiving the surrender of Vicks- 
burg, and Rosecrans was pushing Bragg out of Tennessee, 
General Meade checked the tide of Confederate invasion 
at Gettysburg. This was the first great victory in the 
East since Antietam. While the victory at Gettysburg 
was incomplete, it demonstrated to the South that the 
insurgents would receive no substantial aid from the 
border states. Peace men, both North and South, who 



Nationality and Slavery 205 

tried to secure a cessation of hostilities on terms less 
than the restoration of the Union were discouraged. 

4. The tide of Union victory was somewhat checked in 
September, 1863, when Bragg so nearly annihilated Rose- 
crans at Chickamauga, and cooped up his army in Chat- 
tanooga. The siege was raised by aid from the victors 
at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The Confederate army 
was defeated in those brilliant charges up Lookout 
Mountain and on Missionary Ridge. 

5. When General Grant went East, he put General 
Sherman in command of the great army in the West. 
By July, 1864, Johnston, after a series of most brilliant 
retreats, was driven into Atlanta. Hood succeeded 
him, and had his army defeated. Hood now turned 
North, and was defeated in December by Thomas at 
Franklin. His army never rallied from the blow. In the 
meantime, Sherman was making his famous march to the 
sea. Little opposed, Savannah, Charleston, and other 
places fell. On his return, Johnston, who had been 
restored to command, was driven back into North Carolina. 
This march kept reinforcements from Lee at Richmond, 
and aided the inevitable collapse of the Confederacy. 

6. Early in 1864, General Grant was placed in com- 
mand of all the armies of the Union. With Meade and the 
army of the Potomac, he began a campaign which ended 
only at Appomattox, April, 1865. In this series of 
battles, Lee's army simply battered itself to pieces. At 
no point in the war was the nakedness of slavery so 
apparent as in these last days. The vast strength of the 
Union forces, their splendid equipment in arms, food, and 
clothing, were arguments in favor of freedom and against 
slavery more powerful than were ever set forth by the logic 
of statesmen. With an energy hardly paralleled in history, 
the South had concentrated her forces, political and 



206 Organization of American History 

military, and kept up the movement till her very life 
was burned out. 

Other Events from the Proclamation to the Close of the 
War. War can never be an end in itself. Hence it 
must aim at political or other ends. In a great struggle 
like the Civil War, the relation between military and 
political events is always interactive. The following 
influenced the war itself, and were in turn modified 
by it: 

i . It has already been shown how the financial burdens 
of the war argued for the abolition of slavery. The 
establishment of the national banking system was the 
most important of the later financial measures. It was 
strongly opposed, but passed early in the spring of 1863, 
and gave greater confidence in the financial strength of 
the country. 

2 . The critical political event of this part of the strug- 
gle was the presidential election of 1864. The Confeder- 
acy hoped for the defeat of Lincoln. It looked for a split 
in the Republican party. There was much dissatisfaction 
with the administration's conduct of the war. The aboli- 
tionists had not forgiven Lincoln for delaying emancipation 
till the country was ready for the measure. The radical 
leaders were impatient with his conservatism. Many 
disappointed office-seekers joined the opposition, which 
tended to concentrate upon Secretary Chase. Ohio 
early declared for Lincoln, and the Secretary withdrew 
from the field. The malcontents met in convention at 
Cleveland, May, 1864, and nominated General Fremont. 
The attitude of the Democrats and the hopelessness of 
success led him to withdraw. In proportion as the poli- 
ticians opposed Lincoln, the people rallied to his support. 
From all parts of the Union came an emphatic demand 
for his renomination, which took place at Baltimore and 



Nationality and Slavery 20J 

on a platform that strongly endorsed his administration, 
declared against making compromises with the Con- 
federacy, and in favor of an amendment abolishing slavery. 
The Peace Democrats captured their party in the Chicago 
convention and declared the war a failure, called for a 
convention of states to settle the difficulties between the 
Confederacy and the Union, and denounced the president 
for trampling on the Constitution and the rights of the 
people. General McClellan was nominated, but in his 
letter of acceptance he repudiated parts of the platform. 
The rapid and successful progress of war made a peace 
platform and a war candidate seem ridiculously absurd. 
The election gave Lincoln an overwhelming popular and 
electoral vote; all the states voting, except three, went 
for Lincoln, — a sufficiently emphatic endorsement of his 
war on slavery. 

Digging Slavery up by the Roots. The proposition of 
the Confederacy in the last months of the war to employ 
negroes as soldiers, not only revealed the utter exhaustion 
of the South, but demonstrated their loss of faith in the 
possibility of saving the institution. It is interesting 
and significant that Lee offered to make no stipulations 
with Grant about slavery when arranging terms at 
Appomattox. Although slavery was passing away by 
the logic of events, yet its very roots must be pulled up. 
This was accomplished by amending the Constitution. 

President Lincoln had, by an exercise of the "war 
power," struck a deadly blow at slavery; but it was felt 
that the result, to be a finality, must be stamped upon the 
Constitution itself. In February, 1865, congress sent the 
thirteenth amendment to the people. It was ratified and 
officially proclaimed by December 18. This amend- 
ment put the principle of the anti-slavery clause of the 
Ordinance of 1787 and the Wilmot Proviso into the 



208 Organization of American History 

Constitution. While most of the states of the Confed- 
eracy accepted this amendment, they proceeded to 
legislate in a way which apprised the North of a deter- 
mination to hold the negroes in a sort of slavery. 

When the congress, elected in 1864, met in 1865, the 
Republican majority was furious over the so-called at- 
tempts to nullify the thirteenth amendment, and the 
apparent encouragement given to those states by President 
Johnson. In June of 1866 congress passed the fourteenth 
amendment, which embodied the ideas of the " civil rights" 
bill and provided penalties for limiting the suffrage of any 
class of citizens. This was not ratified till July, 1868. In 
the next year the final amendment growing out of the 
Civil War passed congress and went to the states for their 
approval. This was proclaimed in March, 1870, and 
denied to the United States and to the states the power 
to refuse suffrage to any one "on account of race, color, 
or previous condition of servitude. ' ' Thus was completed, 
by constitutional amendment, the process by which the 
nation annihilated slavery. The United States now 
began that career of unrivaled national prosperity on 
which it might have entered in 1840 had not slavery 
blocked the way. 

While many of the results of the struggle of nationality 
and slavery were negative, yet, in general, a new national 
consciousness was born in this life-and-death struggle 
which prepared the nation to enter with greater vigor 
upon its new career. What this new movement is, and 
what its dominant and controlling principle is, forms a 
new organizing principle controlling its events, also 
its discovery and application in the teaching of the new 
period is of vital importance, pedagogical as well as 
historical. 



THE PERIOD OP CONSOLIDATION AND 
EXPANSION 

The Character of the Period. The tendency to con- 
solidation came with overwhelming force in the conduct of 
the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. Necessity 
observes no law very long. When the life and death 
struggle came, the nation seized power in self-defense. 
The Confederacy did the same. When reconstruction 
came, with the South prostrate, there was no opposition 
save what the broken Democratic Party could offer. 
The exercise of great national powers, constitutional or 
non-constitutional, came in the new period as a habit. 

In some cases the South roused herself to oppose the 
exercise of great national power, such as the effort to 
grant -'National Aid to Education.' ' But no more 
striking exercise of national power has been exhibited 
than was that shown by Grover Cleveland in ordering 
out regular troops to suppress a railroad strike, or his 
reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine in the dispute between 
England and Venezuela. 

The term " expansion" has reference, first of all, to the 
addition of territory to our limits. The first came in the 
purchase of Alaska, by Secretary Seward, from Russia. 

The second event came in the final annexation of 
Hawaii, after the war with Spain broke out. The third 
step came in our treaty with Spain, — the annexation of 
the Philippines, Porto Rico, and the establishment of a 
protectorate over Cuba. And the fourth, and last, step 
was the acquisition of a strip of land across the Isthmus of 
Panama for the building of the great canal. 

The widening of the authority of the United States has 
compelled her to assume a place among the nations of 

20Q 



210 Organization of American History 

the world which she did not formerly hold and against 
which many of our statesmen objected. It seemed to 
he flying in the face of Washington's and Jefferson's advice, 
to say nothing of the Monroe Doctrine. The cry now 
going up (19 14) in favor of the application of the doctrine 
of "Manifest Destiny" to Mexico and Central America 
is significant. 

Present Day Problems. (1) What are they in govern- 
ment? (a) The original plans of separate and distinct 
functions are being modified. In no case have we seen 
more proof than in the administrations of Presidents 
Roosevelt and Wilson. The tendency is to make a 
premier out of the president. This means the sub- 
ordination of members of congress to the desires of 
the executive. Why should it not be so? What are the 
advantages and dangers of the idea? (b) The movement 
for the referendum, the recall, and for state primaries 
seems to be going right on. The president has suggested 
a presidential primary to congress, (c) Likewise, the 
agitation for woman suffrage promises great results, not 
only in giving woman the ballot, but in the causes for 
which she may use her right, (d) The effort of Secretary 
Bryan to secure peace with the world met with a temporary 
set-back in the raising of the question of American 
citizenship for Asiatics in California, and in connection 
with the revolutionary movement in Mexico, (e) The 
commission form of government has been gaining in favor 
together with the referendum and the recall. 

(2) The leading industrial problems just settled or still 
under discussion (19 14). This entire period has been 
a time in which industrial questions have been uppermost, 
(a) New problems have arisen in regard to preparation 
and distribution of the products of the farms, the forests, 
the mines, and animals raised for meat, (b) New 



The Period of Consolidation and Expansion 211 

discoveries and inventions have gone right on. (c) The 
war between capital and labor seems no nearer final 
settlement. A number of states, however, have some 
form of arbitration, but more seem willing to face com- 
pulsory settlement of disputes. Will it not come to 
this? How long have life and property been wasted in 
this way? (d) The Inter-State Commerce Commission, 
created in Cleveland's first administration, is still busy 
with railroad rates, (e) Out of its work came the 
parcels post to compete with the express companies, 
(f) The Wilson administration has carried through a 
lower tariff, an income tax, a law regulating the currency, 
and a law repealing the provision granting free tolls to 
American coastwise trade, (g) A number of states have 
fixed eight hours as a day's work and have prescribed a 
minimum rate of wages. 

(3) Religious and philanthropic movements, (a) 
Perhaps the tendency of several branches of the Protestant 
church to unite or to form inter-denominational organiza- 
tions is the most important movement of our time, (b) 
Closely related to this movement is the establishment of 
mission work in the crowded cities. The work is partly 
religious and partly economic, (c) Closely akin to this 
are the movements for living among the lower classes, — 
usually carried on by university people. This connects 
with education, (d) Among the more powerful of inter- 
denominational organizations is the Anti-Saloon League 
whose purpose is the combating of the drink evil, (e) 
The latest move of the allied temperance organizations is 
for an amendment to the Constitution establishing 
national prohibition (19 14). 

(4) Educational Forces. Since the era of recon- 
struction the educational forces have been tremendous in 
their growth and development, (a) The older universities 



212 Organization of American History 

have entered upon a career of unexampled growth. One 
has reached the ten thousand mark and others are follow- 
ing close after, (b) The newer state universities have laid 
stress upon the development of technical training and 
have, by extension and correspondence courses, sought to 
bring every branch of knowledge to the door of the indi- 
vidual, (c) The South has witnessed a great revival in all 
forms of educational work, ranging from the study of Latin 
to the problem of how to make an acre of land produce the 
most corn, (d) The night school — general and technical 
— for those whose early training is deficient or for those 
who wish to continue their education while working. - 

(5) The Social Forces. The family was one of the 
first organized institutions, if not the first. Many of 
its problems are connected with other institutions. 
Especially the pressure of economic conditions brings 
social changes, (a) Such as making late marriages and 
small families the rule. More still, bachelors and spin- 
sters seem to be permanent factors in American social 
life, (b) Another is the increasing number of divorces. 
Social causes enter here also. There is some agitation 
in favor of a national divorce law. (c) Moral survey 
committees have done considerable work in favor of 
better moral and social conditions, (d) Playgrounds 
have become a great factor in the life of cities, and, with 
well organized clubs for boys — indoors and outdoors 
— are destined to do a great work in the moral uplift 
of future citizens. 



THE ELEMENTARY PHASES OF HISTORY 
TEACHING 

THE SENSE PHASE OF HISTORY 

The General Problem 

Logical and Psychological Method. That which is 
logically first in a subject comes last into the possession 
of the unfolding mind, and that which comes psychologi- 
cally first to the growing mental powers stands logically 
last in the subject. But every fact that occupies the 
line between these two mental points looks back to that 
which precedes as means, and forward to that which 
follows as end. This is the justification for the arrange- 
ment of the subject-matter in this book. No one can 
intelligently determine what the method of history 
work should be without first discovering the logical 
relations in the subject-matter itself. The subject in 
its scientific form stands as the goal toward which every 
lesson must point, no matter where the material is found 
along the line between these two points. It is in this 
spirit that the lower phases of history study are to be 
considered. Not that the lower forms have no value in 
themselves, but rather that their relations to the higher 
phases of the study constitute one of their greatest 
pedagogical meanings. 

HOW THE PROBLEM CHANGES 

However, we must now take into account a guiding 
fact not before considered, namely, the gradual unfolding 
of the powers of the immature mind. We start now at 
the other end of the line of mental life and work forward 
toward the ideal of mind and subject set forth in the 

213 



214 Elementary History Teaching 

preceding discussions. The mind's degree of strength 
and the characteristics which mark its various stages 
of growth constitute a new and determining principle in 
our problem. The organized body of knowledge with 
which we have been busy must yield to this principle. 
Logical relations must give way to psychological con- 
ditions. The child with its intellectual and moral possi- 
bilities passing over into actualities is the all-controlling 
factor in primary method. This is the greatest adjusting 
principle in all primary teaching. 

If we approach the question from the side of mind, 
we find the law of dependence holding between its forms 
of activity. The senses furnish material for the imagina- 
tion, and both supply matter for the understanding, and 
the latter for the reason. The phase of history already 
discussed pertains to those attributes, relations, and 
laws furnished mainly by the understanding and reason. 
From the point of view of mind, therefore, we have yet 
to discuss the material of history in its relation to these 
lower forms of mental life, — the senses and the imagina- 
tion. This is really another double problem. Here 
we are again to show how the material of history is trans- 
formed by, and also transforms, the lower mental 
activities. 

Nature op Observation Work in History 

Does history have a Sense phase? History deals with 
the thought and feeling of a people. A people's thought 
and feeling are expressed in outward acts. These acts 
are sensuous and physical; they can be seen, heard, and 
felt. But, while the events of history were objects of 
observation to persons who lived when and where they 
occurred, they can never be present to the senses again. 
For the most part, the field of history is beyond the 



The Sense Phase of History 215 

reach of the senses. It is just as true, also, that the 
child, up to the time he reaches school, has been observing 
and participating in the acts of men, — has been experi- 
encing history. While the acts observed in this period 
of the child's life are not the individual facts he will 
study in after days, yet so great is the transforming 
power of the imagination that it can take the deeds 
presented to the senses and build from them pictures 
of the actions of all people of all times. The events 
that thus occur in the presence of the pupil's senses 
belong in the domain of all the institutions of human 
society. He is born into and remains a member of 
the family. He early learns the connection between 
occupations and his supply of food and clothing. At 
five or six he enters school, and, it is quite likely, before 
this he has been to Sunday school and church. If he be 
an average boy, he has taken an active personal interest 
in a political campaign. There thus seems to be a pretty 
wide field in which the pupil has already entered. Let 
this spontaneous process go on till the class has covered 
all local geography except that which relates to man. 
Such an arrangement would permit the teacher to com- 
bine this last part of sense geography with sense history. 
The Purpose. In order that we may accomplish 
definite results in the work of observation, the end 
toward which we work must be clearly in mind. The 
answer may be given in terms of mind and of sub- 
ject. 1. On the side of mind: (a) the primary ob- 
ject is to confer the habit of judging men's thoughts 
and feelings through their acts; (b) a secondary 
end is to give the habit of careful observation — the 
habit of rinding truth in objects present to the sense. 
2. On the side of the subject: (a) the primary object is 
to give the mind material out of which the imagination 



216 Elementary History Teaching 

may construct pictures of historical events; (b) the 
secondary purpose, or rather result, is to give a more, 
thorough knowledge of local institutions. The primary 
end on the side of mind is peculiar to history. No 
other subject, in all its phases, puts the mind to the 
test of finding man's head and heart in his acts. This 
is a power conferred by the study of history at every 
point. When the mind begins to struggle • with this 
problem, its material should be in its very presence and 
be sensuous and simple. A result, rather than a pur- 
pose, will be to give the mind the habit of studying 
objects that appeal to the sense. This is not peculiar 
to this kind of history work, but is rather a mental result 
to which many subjects contribute. The primary end 
on the side of the subject grows out of the relation 
between the sensuous and the picture-making phases 
of mental life. Because of the close dependence between 
them, it is right to say that sense history has its highest 
significance in the fact that it gives the mind the material 
that makes possible the next stage of the work, — the 
picture-making stage. Most of the events of history 
are representative and their mastery by the higher 
powers of the mind largely depends on the clearness 
and fullness with which the imagination can picture 
them. Now, the skill of the imagination partly depends 
on the material furnished through the senses. It seems 
right therefore, to say that the primary aim here is to 
prepare for the second phase of history study. Since 
events must reach the mind through the language of 
books or of teachers, it is right to say that this first 
phase of work prepares the mind to put meaning into 
the language, by means of which events are described 
to the imagination. It is no unusual thing for the pupil 
not to be able to put content into the words of the 



The Sense Phase of History 217 

history text. He feels that a recitation must be made, 
and his only resource is to commit the language of the 
lesson. In such cases the book fails to arouse the pupil's 
imagination, because the content of the book is foreign 
to his experience. In other words, the pupil has not 
been properly prepared for the ideas and vocabulary 
of the history text. From this point of view we seem 
justified in holding that the primary purpose in this 
phase is to prepare the mind for the picture-making phase. 
This makes it clear that a knowledge of local institutions 
is a result, rather than an end; or it may be regarded 
as a means to the primary end. This signifies that 
local institutions are to be studied at this point only 
in so far as they prepare material for the imagination. 
The knowledge of affairs could hardly be the primary 
aim on account of the degree of mental strength. 

The Material for Observation in History. The matter 
presented is merely suggestive and presupposes two 
things: 1. That the pupil has been in school two or 
three years and has finished local geography, except 
that part dealing with man and his institutions. 2. 
That the teacher sees the intimate connections between 
local political geography and sense history. 

In opening up a new field of study to the immature 
mind, the point of beginning is a question of some impor- 
tance. The part taken first is determined by the 
principle that the mind deals most easily with material 
familiar to it through frequent and intimate experience. 
This condition is fully met by the family. Into this 
institution the pupil was born eight or nine years ago. 
He has differentiated himself from his young friends 
by recognizing himself as a member of a certain family, 
and has also put them into groups on the basis of 
family connections. His wants and desires have been 
15 



218 Elementary History Teaching 

supplied by the family, and around it and its members 
his affections have twined themselves. The question 
now is what the family furnishes for his observation 
that will aid in the study of social life, — will aid in 
picturing their life of customs and deeds, and in making 
inferences from these as to their thought and feeling. 
The following topics point the way toward the answer: — 
i. The relationship between parents and children. 
The main ideas here are the parents as lawgivers and 
the children as obedient subjects. The pupil can see 
himself under a rule of action common to each member 
of his related group, and must see some of the results 
that attend obedience and disobedience. In Bible 
history he will be called on to construct a system of 
government built out of the family tie. 

2. Relation of the family to food, clothing, and 
shelter opens up a fertile field. Among the many things 
we may suggest are the water supply, the gas, the 
electricity, the delivery wagon, the postman, and so on. 
Some will carry the child into the realm of local govern- 
ment and some into business. His duties as a member 
of the family and the mutual dependence of each upon 
the whole can be brought out. Here he is beginning to 
study those sensuous phenomena which, in later years, 
become the subject matter of history, political science, 
economics, and sociology. 

3. Relationship bet ween families. This subject opens 
the whole field of observable social life. The study of 
customs — particularly pastimes and games — will be an 
inviting field to the young pupil; he will lay up a vast 
fund of material out of which he will construct the social 
life of the past. 

In studying his physical wants in the family he 
touched intimately the industrial life of the community. 



The Sense Phase of History 219 

This new field opens a wide range of simple, observable 
facts. Here are a few lines that may be worked out: — 

1. The kinds of occupations and their relation to one 
another. The lesson of mutual dependence can be 
taught here again, but on a much wider scale than was 
illustrated in the family. 

2. Effect of different kinds of occupations on the 
habits and customs of the people. 

3. The protection of property by law. A study may 
be made of the process by which this is done. This 
would include the arrest and temporary imprisonment 
of the accused, summoning witnesses, the trial, and 
the punishment. A good opportunity is here offered to 
judge of the thought and feeling of men as expressed in 
their acts. What did the owner of the property and 
his neighbors do when the theft occurred? Why? The 
answer must come in terms of their thoughts and feel- 
ings. How does the accused man feel, and what does 
he think? How do you know? Why should he be 
tried, and what is the purpose of fining and imprisoning 
him? The pupil may not be able to penetrate and 
fully interpret all these acts; but this is so vital an act 
of mind in all historical investigation that the pupil 
cannot begin too soon, and push it as far as his strength 
will allow. 

The study of the school at first hand is more difficult: 

1. Something of the intention of his parents in sending 
him to school, and its character, must be presented to 
him, with as much of its significance as he can master. 

2. The different grades of schools and their wide dis- 
tribution will suggest what an ambitious person may 
do. 3. How the teacher is selected and paid, and the 
pupil's relation to him in the school. 

The church is, in most of its phases, beyond the child's 



220 Elementary History Teaching 

power. But even here something may be done by 
observation and study: i. The kinds of religious 
denominations must be seen as due to differences in 
thought. 2. The purpose of the church and Sunday 
school determined from the acts they do. 3. The social 
customs connected with the church. 

There is another very important and fruitful field for 
observation work in history — the political. 

1. Every neighborhood furnishes the pupil examples 
of men set apart by some process to perform the duties 
of local government. The mode of selection, the purpose, 
and duties of such officers should be brought under the 
pupil's observation. 

2. If he live in town or city, there is still greater 
opportunity for this study; the policeman in uniform, 
the mayor, the assessor, the men who work in the streets, 
— each of these calls for attention. 

3. Political events, especially those connected with 
state and national campaigns, furnish abundant and 
valuable material. Besides, by the concrete and sensu- 
ous character of the events, they have moved his feelings 
very intensely. The chances are that long before ten 
years of age he has participated in more than one 
political demonstration. Whatever may be said about 
the desirability of a child sharing so early in political 
prejudices, it is certainly true that it gives him an 
abundant supply of material to aid in putting content 
into events that can only appear to him in the realm of 
imagination. All the glitter and show, pomp and parade, 
noise and music of a campaign are not lost on a boy. 
They have a value for him far beyond the immediate 
present. Think of the gorgeous picture that flashes 
before his senses and impresses itself upon his memory: 
brass bands, large numbers of great decorated wagons 



The Sense Phase of History 221 

drawn by spans of spirited horses, and filled with grace 
and beauty, great men riding in state, — governors, 
senators, statesmen, and orators, — uniformed ranks 
with stately tread, long lines of brilliant torches, the 
flash and flare of fireworks, the roar of cannon, the billows 
of human huzzas, triumphal arches and banners with 
inscriptions! 

Two boys — one has never seen this picture or its 
like, while the other had been a part of it; which of 
them can picture most fully and vividly a Roman 
triumph, the celebration of a king's coronation, the 
greeting that Columbus received on his return to Spain, 
the reception of the royal governor in Virginia, the 
procession that paid honor to Washington as he passed 
through the land, the grand review in Washington at 
the close of the Civil War? There can be but one 
answer. Again, this observation of a political demon- 
stration on the part of the pupil gives the teacher a 
rare opportunity to cultivate the historic judgment. 
What were his feelings? Why did he participate at 
the parade? What was the purpose of the other people 
in taking part and what was their feeling? How did 
the persons who stayed at home and refused to join the 
demonstration feel? Thus, by questions, the pupil 
may be led to analyze the outside show and the inner 
significance of a political demonstration. 

General Conclusion. The interest in neighborhood 
institutions which should take root in this phase of work 
ought to grow throughout life. A permanent and abiding 
interest in the home community is closely akin to intel- 
ligent patriotism, and may be secured by means of a 
line of work dealing with some phase of local institutional 
life and extending over the entire period of school work. 
This suggestion brings the pupil into direct contact with 



222 Elementary History Teaching 

the subject of local or community civics. At each step 
the facts studied must be present to the pupil through 
personal observation, if possible, and in no case should 
they consist of a bare enumeration of certain local dig- 
nitaries by means of an official terminology. The concrete 
institutional process is what the pupil should see and 
understand. In the beginnings of such observation, 
more of the concrete process will be seen and less of its 
meaning understood, but the growth of power over the 
latter will come with continued effort and wider observa- 
tion as the field expands so as to include the entire group 
of social studies. 

Such work not only finds its justification in its bearing 
on the affairs of the community, but also in the fact that 
it furnishes a basis in actual experience for the proper 
understanding of all institutions. As this work grows, 
the teacher will observe an increasing capacity and desire 
on the part of the pupil to make the connection between 
the historical products of his own community and state, 
and the historical process which he is tracing in the 
events of the past. The presence of such a power and 
inclination should be hailed with delight on the part of 
the teacher and should be properly stimulated by increased 
opportunities. Such work has a sort of double value: 
it lifts the institutional facts of the community up to their 
place in the general historical process and at the same 
time brings the apparently remote historical movement 
down to the present, and roots it among the concrete life 
of which the pupil is a part. For every discovery thus 
made the pupil will become a better citizen and a better 
student of history. There is no time-limit to this process 
of making local institutions and the historical processes 
of institutions contribute to the understanding of each 
other. It is not desirable to give equal attention to both 



The Sense Phase of History 223 

phases, but complete separation at any time in the study 
of American history makes the best results impossible. 

The conclusion is, that first hand experience with 
institutions in the concrete all along the line of historical 
study, will not only enrich the life of the coming citizen, 
but will add many fold to the pupil's and student's power 
over the great past. 



THE PICTURE -MAKING PHASE OF HISTORY 

The General Problem 
Nature and Immediate Purpose. Any attempt to draw- 
sharp lines of separation between the phases of history 
based on the phases of mental activity will result in harm. 
These phases are not distinct. They transfuse — each is 
found in the others. The picture-making phase of history 
looks two ways, — back to sense material, and forward to 
reflective work. We know that one purpose of the 
sensuous side of history is to furnish the memory an 
abundance of material upon which the imagination can 
draw in the process of creating events in pictured form. 
While it is true that in the first phase of the work the mind 
is mainly absorbed in sensuous events which it uses in 
the second, yet, as the pupils go through life, the senses 
are open and material is accumulated at every stage. So, 
too, the judgment, in some of its forms, is present in the 
first two stages of the work as well as predominant in the 
third. 

The immediate purpose of the picture-making phase of 
history is to give the mind that peculiar form of activity 
which its stage of growth calls for. As the mind passes 
from immaturity toward maturity, it enters a phase of 
activity in which picture making is very active. At 
this period the mind delights in image making and takes 
more interest in it than in any other. It ought, therefore, 
to be given all the opportunity it craves for this form of 
exercise. To cultivate — stimulate and strengthen — the 
imagination is the immediate intellectual end to be held in 
view in this second stage of the work. We have seen that 
history has to deal with two sets of parallel phenomena, 
an inner and an outer, — ideas and events. The latter 

224 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 225 

are sensuous and external, and can be pictured with all the 
attributes that characterized them in their sensuous form 
— just as they appeared to the eyes and ears of the men 
who witnessed them. So true is the imagination to the 
senses, if it have an opportunity, that one may become 
so absorbed in the picture as to feel for a moment that he 
stands in the very presence of the scenes recounted. 
When we reflect upon the fact that every great wave of 
human thought and feeling has expressed itself in external 
phenomena that may thus be vividly reproduced by the 
imagination, it becomes evident that this phase of histor- 
ical knowledge must play an important part in the study 
of any portion of this subject; and it becomes our imme- 
diate purpose on the side of the subject to give the imagina- 
tion possession of this form of historical material. 

Relation Between Picture Making and the Judgment. 
This phase of the study has been called the story side of 
history. The name is significant because it emphasizes 
that which charms us most in the real story, — the move- 
ment of a stream of pictures which the story sets going 
in our imagination. These charm us by the ease with 
which they come and go, and by the richness and variety 
which they present. Their characters are concrete — 
they are given a sensuous setting. This is not unlike what 
happens in the story side of history; the pupil becomes 
consciously interested in the acts and actors that history 
reproduces, as it were, before his very eyes. It is the 
picture presented that interests and absorbs him, rather 
than the possible relations which may be revealed by the 
judgment under the direction of the teacher. 

The conclusion must not be drawn that imagination is 
the only form of mental activity in this kind of work. The 
judgment is always present, even when the imagination 
is at its best. Neither excludes the other, but they are 



226 Elementary History Teaching 

mutually helpful. The historical judgment is really 
dependent upon the imagination for its material. 
Thought and feeling cannot be inferred unless the imagina- 
tion calls the deeds back to life again. In its turn, the 
work of the judgment reacts upon the pictured scene and 
not only makes it more vivid, but more permanent as well. 
Let us call up the picture of the battle of Bunker Hill at 
the close of the second retreat. How different is the scene 
inside and outside of the breastworks ! As the imagination 
pictures the hill-slope strewn with British dead and 
wounded, and the Americans comparatively unhurt 
behind their rude fort, the judgment finds one explanation 
in the relation which the fort bears to the conflict. What 
is the effect on the picture of the judgment passing from 
fort to British and from fort to Americans as it searches 
for the explanation? There can be but one result, — a 
stronger and more lasting picture of the scene. The parts 
of the picture are no more the simple, independent parts 
they were when the imagination first began to light up 
the scene, but now they are tied together forever by the 
relation of contrasted results due to the same cause. 

If the above be true, why not make the exercise of the 
judgment the immediate purpose, on the side of knowl- 
edge, for which the second phase of history is studied? 
Three reasons are against it: i. The mind at this stage 
makes pictures more easily than it searches for relations. 

2. The picture absorbs attention and effort more easily. 

3. On picture making depends higher work. Picture 
making, therefore, should characterize the work at some 
time. If not done now it will mean that the pupil must 
do work that could have better been done at an earlier 
date. 

The Remote Purpose. The above point brings us 
face to face with the question of the remote ends to be 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 227 

gained by the picture phase of history work. If the pupil 
be conscious of an end in this work, he thinks only of the 
immediate end on the side of knowledge. He is not 
conscious of a remote end. What if the teacher is in 
the same predicament? In order that the pupil may do 
the picture-making side of his work well, the teacher must 
be living under the inspiration, that comes from the 
reflective side of the work. There is little hope for pupil 
or teacher should the latter not' see in this phase of work 
the steps on which the pupil is to climb to higher realms. 
The remote end must always control the immediate, for 
the latter is means to the former. How shall the means 
be handled? How shall the picture-making phase of 
work be carried on, — in what spirit, along what lines, and 
to what extent in any line? Now these questions cannot 
be answered accurately unless the teacher see how this 
work is to issue in power to gain more and higher knowl- 
edge — unless the remote end be constantly before the 
mind as the guiding light. 

In discussing the remote ends to be reached by this kind 
of history teaching, it is hardly necessary to distinguish 
between discipline and knowledge. Both the kind of 
mental exercise and the form of knowledge to be reached 
will perhaps serve equally well as remote ends to guide 
one in leading the pupil so that he gets the best discipline 
in this phase of the work, and at the same time lays the 
best foundation for the new work'. 1 

The Ethical Purpose. It will be observed that the 

ends discussed above relate to the intellectual side of this 

phase of the work. Ethical or moral results in teaching 

are ends in themselves and can hardly be discriminated as 

*It is quite possible that the distinction between teaching for 
discipline and teaching for knowledge is a mechanical one, and 
that the teaching for highest discipline is precisely the teaching 
that gives the highest knowledge. 



228 Elementary History Teaching 

immediate and remote; at least they need not be so differ- 
entiated for this discussion. The formation of a noble 
character is the primary aim of all teaching. In respect 
to the development of the ethical side of the pupil, history, 
from the nature of its material, lends itself to such an end 
more readily and more efficiently than many other 
subjects. This appears from the discussion relating to 
the ethical value of interpretation. Indeed, the ethical 
element is present in every stage of history work. Wher- 
ever history reveals a conflict between individual men, 
between parties, between nations, or, where the view is 
profound enough, between ideas themselves, there will 
appear the ethical element and there will exist the opportu- 
nity to add fresh stimulus to the ethical nature. 

Although the intellectual and ethical purposes of this 
phase of work have been separated for purposes of discus- 
sion, it must not be inferred that the elements of character 
to which they correspond are so separated. Character is 
so completely a unit that it is pedagogically dangerous to 
isolate its elements even in thought. They are essential 
and cooperating parts in the organic process called life or 
character. Hence the danger of setting up one of these 
elements as the supreme end in the teaching of any phase 
of history work. 

The Material for Picture Making 
for the first three or four years — patriotic 

anniversaries 

The Celebration of National and State Holidays. We 

have seen that the study of local institutions is both 
geographical and historical and that the pupil goes 
through life constantly gathering sense impressions of 
these institutions. During the first three or four years 
of school work history is not studied as such, but only 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 22Q 

incidentally are historical matters appealing to the 
senses and to the imagination studied. Among the 
simple, concrete material are the national and state 
holidays. Many of them are taken for their patriotic 
and other influences. 

Because of the sensuous-picture-making stage of the 
pupil and because of the nature of the events them- 
selves, these anniversaries can be repeated for several 
years. The teacher must take care, however, to give 
the occasion a different setting at each repetition to 
prevent the pupil from growing tired of their recurrence 
each year. As the pupils gain in strength and knowledge 
the teacher should add new and higher significance to 
the events. 

The Outline of the Days. Following the school year 
we find Labor Day at the very beginning. The purpose 
of this day is to teach respect for labor. The great 
procession of floats represents different occupations, — 
sometimes the historical development of some industry. 

Columbus Day, October 12, the day of the great 
discovery. This may include the story of early struggle, 
his visit to Spain, the interest of the great Queen in his 
voyage, the voyage, and his reception on returning to 
Spain. 

Thanksgiving Day. The Pilgrims; the Mayflower; 
Plymouth Rock; Miles Standish; the first winter; the 
cause of Thanksgiving. How we celebrate the day. 
A picture of the Mayflower and of a modern steamer 
will show progress. 

The Holiday Season — Christmas and New Year's. The 
spirit of giving is the great characteristic of Christmas. 
The spirit of the New Year is represented in new resolutions 
to achieve nobler things. 

Lincoln's Birthday, February 12. Born in 1809. 



2 jo Elementary History Teaching 

Poverty. Presenting soldier with a fish. Moves to 
Indiana backwoods. Mother dies, but his stepmother 
proves a real mother. Peacemaker at home and in 
school. Anxious to read books — by the fire, in the fields, 
and at rest time. Size and strength at 17. How he wins 
the hearts of people. He hates slavery but not the 
slaveholder. Made president. Beloved by the soldier 
boys. Sets the negroes free. Why people cried when 
the news came of his death. 

Washington's Birthday, February 22. Born on a plan- 
tation. Studied hard and played hard. At 16 goes 
as surveyor with companions, across the mountains. 
Death gives him beautiful Mount Vernon, on the Potomac. 
Loved outdoor life. Stories of his courage in the French 
War and in the Revolutionary War. Story of serving 
his country as general and as president without pay. 
Parting scenes with his generals, and with the people, 
as president. Returns to Mount Vernon. Receives 
General Lafayette. Their parting. 

Memorial Day, May 30. To cover the graves of 
soldiers with flowers. The two great soldiers of the 
Civil War, Grant and Lee. Decorate the Union and 
Confederate dead together — a beautiful ceremony and a 
high honor to the dead. Shows how old soldiers only 
remember the noble deeds of each other. 

Flag Day, June 14. Story of the making of the first 
flag. Betsy Ross and Washington. The Petticoat flag 
at Fort Schuyler. The meaning of the colors. Story 
of "The Star-Spangled Banner." 

Independence Day, or the Fourth of July. The great 
men who made the Declaration of Independence. Story 
of the Liberty Bell. How we celebrate the Fourth. 

Other Days. Celebrate local heroes, or events, coming 
at various times during the school year. 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 231 

MYTH, LEGEND, FOLKLORE 

History and Literature. We have already seen how- 
history and local geography are related. In the first 
three or four years of school life the pupil is in a peculiar 
mental state. He lives in dreamland with fancy running 
riot. He peoples his world with mythical beings and 
loves to live in this w^orld of fancied beings. These 
creations are more or less real to him, although they 
may be ever so ludicrous and grotesque. 

This stage of mental life demands that the pupil have 
fairy stories, stories of mythical persons, and folklore 
stories. This type of tale ought to furnish him with 
a part of his reading work, for the sake of the literature 
as well as for the history. In a very important sense 
this will give him experiences closely akin to genuine 
history. These stories deal with personages. The per- 
sons or characters are constantly putting forth acts that 
are most interesting. To him and to the teacher the 
acts or deeds are signs of their thoughts and feelings. 
However grotesque or unreal these acts, they are intended 
to signify something. The language used harmonizes 
with the acts. 

Therefore, the pupil as he threads his way through 
the delights of the fairy story, the myth or other story, 
has an abundance of experience in reading thoughts, 
purposes, ideas, and feelings out of the actions put forth. 
The acts or events are the creations of the fancy or of 
the imagination. The material out of which they were 
made came from the pupil's observation of physical 
events. 

In many cases these stories are highly dramatic, since 
they present characters in conflict with each other. 
Sometimes the characters stand for opposing and con- 
flicting ideas. Their purposes and, therefore, their 



232 Elementary History Teaching 

deeds are different. The outcome of the story is to show 
how one character and the purpose for which he stands 
triumphs over another. 

This type of story is the product of the creative imagi- 
nation and is, therefore, literature, and may furnish 
material for reading lessons. But in addition it fur- 
nishes the pupil with just the kind of experience he 
needs as a preparation for the study of real history. 
To him these characters are often real. They live by 
the aid of imagination. They act. They perform 
heroic deeds, and their deeds are in harmony with their 
thoughts and feelings. For the pupil, consciously or 
unconsciously, to see the acts and thoughts of these 
characters in conflict, or to infer thoughts and feelings 
from acts he witnesses is a genuine preparation for the 
study of history. 

THE TRANSITIONAL STORY 

Semi-Historical Stories. The transition is not so 
abrupt from the myth and folklore stories to the story 
of the real historical person, if we begin by weaving 
the facts of history around a person created by the 
imagination. 

The marshaling of historical facts around an inter- 
esting personage — ideal or real — gives them a coloring 
and depth of interest that can be supplied in no other 
way. These facts become invested with a portion of 
the interest and the attributes of life that attach to 
the person whose career and experiences are being 
followed. It seems quite clear that an ideal historical 
character may be the center of a story such as that 
found in Ten Boys on the Road from Long Ago to 
Now. The truth is that the real child takes an inter- 
est in things far beyond his ability to understand their 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 233 

connections. By being interested in adult people lie 
becomes interested in the doings of adult people. In the 
little work alluded to above, we see it illustrated in 
the case of each of the ten characters. It is plain in the 
case of the Aryan boy when he participates in the rude 
worship of his family or follows the migrations of his 
kindred down into the plains of the Indus. Again, 
what real child will not sympathize with the typical lad, 
Ezekiel, when he calls out to his mother from the anguish 
of his little heart, as he sees his father dragged to jail: 
"How shall we get father back again?" It even makes 
a different impression upon the adult mind, because of 
the personal interest in Ezekiel, than would the account 
in the ordinary text of the persecution of the Puritans 
in the time of James I. When Ezekiel's father comes 
back from the harsh treatment of the prison, what need 
is there to search for other causes of the Puritan migra- 
tion to New England? In other words, great facts of 
history may be made to fasten themselves into the 
minds and hearts of pupils, because these facts are seen 
to have fastened themselves into the hearts and thoughts 
of boys and girls in whom the pupils have an interest. 
This is based on a universal law of human life, — that 
life begets life; sympathy calls forth sympathy; con- 
ditions and experiences not too foreign call from the 
human mind the same thoughts and feelings that are 
experienced by the parties who live under the conditions 
and undergo the experiences. 

What is contended for in this phase of picture-making 
history is a presentation that parallels such geographical 
stories as the Seven Little Sisters, Each and All, Little 
Folks of the Other Lands, and Pilgrim Stories. 

What more unique and interesting characters could 
be woven into an historical story than a Puritan boy 



234 Elementary History Teaching 

and girl? The wealth of incident here would be the 
only serious drawback. The hard struggle of the first 
families against cold and hunger; how a few families 
formed a town which grew by additions; how the church 
and the school occupied much of the children's time; 
what their experiences were with the Indians; how 
they felt and acted toward them, and what an Indian 
war meant; how these Puritan families in the town 
got their living; what pastimes were regarded as inno- 
cent and what as injurious; how the little town dealt 
with offenders against law and custom ; the high respect 
and esteem in which all held the minister of the 
village. 

In deep and striking contrast with the stories of New 
England life, as seen through youthful eyes, would stand 
the experience of a planter's son and daughter. What 
differences of environment; life on a plantation instead 
of in a town; few associates instead of the society of 
many; private instruction instead of the schools, and 
then a long journey to college or a trip abroad for the 
son; the presence of negro slaves; he may visit the 
quarters and see how they are fed and clothed; follow 
them in the performance of their duties in the field or 
around the house. No doubt, the young planter will 
reveal in his conduct the pride of his family in their 
ancestors, their broad acres, and their negroes; no doubt, 
he will also reveal his feeling of social superiority over 
the children of the overseer and the non-slaveholder. 
What materials for an absorbing story — nothing like it 
in the rest of America! 

We must not forget the boy in broad-brimmed hat 
and drab clothes who came over with William Perm and 
witnessed the great treaty. There is still another boy, 
living up on the Hudson, whose name is Knickerbocker; 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 235 

he founded the Empire state, and had many interesting 
experiences very different from our other boys. 

We have outlined, in this brief way, a field of work in 
colonial history that is practically unoccupied, and 
which eventually would yield rich results if cultivated 
by skillful hands. 

THE INDIAN STORY 

We now come to a story that is also a product of the 
creative imagination, but, in a way, the opposite of the 
preceding stories. In the stories thus far the hero has 
been created, but events have been the product of history 
itself. In the Indian story the facts or events are recon- 
structed — created — and woven around an individual 
more or less real. The Indian left few records, except 
when he came in contact with the white man. But 
we can find some sort of records of great chiefs, such 
as Massasoit, King Philip, Red Jacket, and Tecumseh, 
but very little of the life they lived outside of their con- 
tact with the white man. 

This story is only one step removed from fancy. It 
is the story of a people at once crude and primitive. 
The very forests around them were untouched save by 
their little clearings. Here they lived after the most 
primitive fashion in tents made of poles and the skins 
of animals. 

Along the streams they fished with the crudest sort 
of arrangements for taking fish which children delight 
to make. In the deep places of the forests they hunted 
game with instruments that boys can make, and when 
caught, the game was rudely dressed and cooked over 
the fire in a manner so primitive that children love to 
repeat the process. 

In some choice spot in the wilderness they girdled 
the trees with stone axes and used fire in burning huge 



2j6 Elementary History Teaching 

logs to make a place for cornfield and garden. Here 
the squaw worked with stone hoe cutting down the 
weeds that threatened the simple crop. When the 
corn was ripe they pounded it in a mortar, making a 
coarse kind of meal from which was baked bread, usually 
among the ashes. 

In addition to this rude agriculture, — which fell mostly 
to the lot of the Indian women, — the males regarded 
themselves as fighters, warriors, to protect their women 
and children, their rude homes, and their hunting grounds 
from rival tribes. Their fighting was done, before the 
coming of the whites, with clubs, tomahawks made of 
stone, and bows and arrows. They loved to conceal 
themselves and burst upon the enemy with murderous 
shouts, or, waiting till nightfall, creep up and apply 
the torch to their frail wigwams. They loved show, 
making a great display of war-paint and feathers. Have 
you never seen boys, dressed as Indians, skulking through 
imaginary forests, concealing themselves behind imagi- 
nary trees, and springing in fury upon their imaginary 
foes? The remains of implements used by the Indians, 
generally made of stone, the skins and bones of animals, 
and specimens of rude clothes, together with beads and 
basket making, will give the children additional means 
of observation and impress upon them the fact that 
the American Indians were once a genuine race of men. 

The great advantage in giving some attention to 
Indian stories lies in the fact that the pupil will thus 
have made unconsciously a great step towards under- 
standing the background of American history. He 
can better understand why the Indian, in the main, 
became a hindrance to the progress of America. In 
this way he will be better prepared for his study of 
discovery and colonization. If this be not done, the 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 237 

child will not only suffer for a lack of knowledge of Indian 
affairs, but will be handicapped in understanding this 
obstacle to the progress in colonial life and to life on 
the frontier. 

THE REAL HERO 

The Story of the Real Historical Person. While the 
pupil has been enriching his imagination in the first 
three years of school life, he has likewise been extending 
his observation upon men and institutions and has more 
and more been exercising the rudimentary forms of 
judgment upon them. But to genuine history he is 
still a stranger. 

In the order of difficulty, he comes in his fourth year 
to the story of the real historical person, the man of 
flesh and blood. If he still have some lingering ten- 
dencies to fancy and romance, he will not find it difficult 
to begin the new phase with heroes like Leif Ericson 
who sailed in that peculiar-looking ship of the Norsemen 
to the coast of North America, and whose life and doings 
are told in old Norse sagas or songs. Nor is the marvel- 
ous story of Marco Polo lacking in the elements of 
romance; how he journeyed to the far East, spent many 
years in the service of the great Khan, or wandering 
about regions peopled with rich cities, or his return to 
his native Venice only to find himself unknown by his 
former neighbors. 

Thus it appears that the pupil can have satisfied 
his longing for the romantic and his love of the imagina- 
tive in the story of the real historical person. At the 
same time, in this story, he is stimulated to test the 
simple forms of judgment. These acts of judgment are 
called simple because the stories present in pictorial form 
facts and characters about which the judgment acts. 
This concrete judgment does not mean that the mind 



238 Elementary History Teaching 

cannot classify the stories and their characters. For 
simple concrete form of classification Mace's Primary 
History presents abundant examples : 

THE PERIOD OF DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION 

The Northmen and the Most Famous Traveler in the Far East. 
Leif Ericson, Who Discovered Vinland. 

Marco Polo, the Man Who Wrote a Book about the Far East. 
Christopher Columbus, the First Great Man in American 

History. 
He Sought India and Found America. 
The Men Who Succeeded Where Columbus Failed. 

Magellan, Who Proved That the World is Round by Sailing 

Around It. 
Cortes, Who Found the Rich City of Mexico. 
Pizarro, Who Found the Richest City in the World. 
Two Men Who Proved that North America Had No More 

Rich Cities. 
Coronado, Who Discovered New Kinds of Towns and the 

Grand Canyon of the Colorado. 
De Soto, the Discoverer of the Mississippi. 
The Men Who Made America Known to England and Who 

Checked the Progress of Spain. 
John Cabot Searches for a Shorter Route to India and Finds 

the Mainland of North America. 
Sir Francis Drake, the English "Dragon" Who Sailed the 

Spanish Main and Who " Singed the King of Spain's 

Beard." 
Sir Walter Raleigh, the Friend of Elizabeth, Plants a Colony 

in America to Check the Power of Spain. 
Famous People in Early Virginia. 

John Smith, the Savior of Virginia, and Pocahontas, its Good 

Angel. 
Sir William Berkeley, the Cavalier Governor, and Nathaniel 

Bacon, the First American Rebel. 
Lord Baltimore, in a Part of Virginia, Founds Maryland as a 

Home for Persecuted Catholics (1634) and Welcomes 

Protestants. 
Some Old England Puritans in New England. 

Elder Brewster, the Pilgrim Preacher, and Miles Standish, 

the Pilgrim Soldier. 
John Winthrop, the Founder of Boston; Roger Williams, the 

Founder of Rhode Island; and Thomas Hooker, the 

Founder of Connecticut. 
The Men Who Planted Colonies for Many Kinds of People. 
Henry Hudson, Whose Discoveries Led Dutch Traders to 

Colonize New Netherland. 
Peter Stuyvesant, the Great Dutch Governor of New Nether- 
land. 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 23Q 

William Penn founds a Home for the Quakers, but Makes Wel- 
come all Persecuted Christians. 

James Ogelthorpe, the Founder of Georgia as a Home for 
English Debtors, as a Place for Persecuted Protestants, 
and as a Barrier Against the Spaniards. 
The Men Who Planted New France in America and Threat- 
ened to Keep the English South of the St. Lawrence 
and the Lakes, and East of the Mountains. 

Samuel de Champlain, the Father of New France. 

Joliet and Marquette, Fur Trader and Missionary, Explore 
the Mississippi Valley for New France. 

LaSalle and Hennepin Pushed Forward the Work Begun by 
Joliet and Marquette. 

Montcalm, the Defender, and Wolfe, the Conqueror of New 
France. 

THE PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION 

The Men Who Defended America by Tongue and Pen. 
Patrick Henry, the Orator of the Revolution. 
Samuel Adams, the Firebrand of the Revolution. 
The Men Who Fought for American Independence with Gun 

and Sword. 
George Washington, the First General and First President of 

the United States. 
The Three Men Who Prepared the Way for the Capture of 

Burgoyne's Army. 
Generals Greene, Morgan, and Marion, the Men Who Helped 

Win the South from the British. 
The Men Who Helped Win Independence Fighting England 

on the Sea. 
Paul Jones, a Scotchman, Who Won the Great Victory in the 

French Ship, "Bon Homme Richard." 
John Barry, Who Won More Sea Fights in the Revolution 

than Any Other Captain. 
The Man Who Helped Win Independence by Winning the 

Hearts of Frenchmen for America. 
Benjamin Franklin, the Wisest American of His Time. 
Foreigners Who Came Over the Sea to Help Washington 

Win Independence. 
Marquis de Lafayette. 
Baron von Steuben. 
Tadeusz Kosciuszko. 
Casimir Pulaski. 
Johann De Kalb. 
The Men Who Crossed the Mountains, Defeated the Indians 

and British, and Made the Mississippi River the 

First Western Boundary of the United States. 
Daniel Boone, the Hunter and Pioneer of Kentucky. 
James Robertson and John Sevier, the Pioneers of Tennessee. 
George Rogers Clark, the Hero of Vincennes. 



240 Elementary History Teaching 

THE PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT AS A NATION 

The Men Who Helped Washington Start the New Govern- 
ment. 

Alexander Hamilton, the Youngest of the Great Men of the 
Revolution and the Father of the Federalist Party. 

Thomas Jefferson, Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence, 
Founded the Democratic Party, and Purchased the 
Louisiana Territory. 
Heroes of the War of 18 12. 

William Henry Harrison, the Victor at Tippecanoe and the 
Thames. 

Oliver Hazard Perry, the Victor in the Battle of Lake Erie. 

Andrew Jackson, the Victor of New Orleans. 
The Three Greatest Statesmen of the Middle Period. 

Henry Clay, the Founder of the Whig Party, and the Great 
Pacificator. 

Daniel Webster, the Defender of the Constitution. 

John C. Calhoun, Champion of Nullification. 
The Men Who Won Texas, the Oregon Country, and Cali- 
fornia. 

Sam Houston, the Hero of San Jacinto. 

Lewis and Clark. Finding the Way to the Oregon Country. 

John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains. 
The Men Who Made the Nation Great by Their Inventions 
and Discoveries. 

Robert Fulton, the Inventor of the Steamboat. 

Samuel F. B. Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph. 

Cyrus West Field, Who Laid the Atlantic Cable Between 
America and Europe. 

Thomas A. Edison, the Greatest Inventor of Electrical Machin- 
ery in the World. 
The Men Who Saved the Union. 

Stephen A. Douglas, the Little Giant. 

Abraham Lincoln, the Liberator and Martyr. 

Ulysses S. Grant, the Great General of the Union Armies. 
The Man Who Led the Confederate Armies. 

Robert Edward Lee. 
The Men Who Fought Spain, Conquered the Philippines, 
and Made Cuba Free. 

George Dewey, the Hero of Manila Bay. 

The Capture of Cervera's Fleet. 

The Story of the Person before the Story of the Event. 

Some historians, apparently without wide experience 
in public school work, have reversed the order given above. 
It has seemed fitting that the reasons for the study of 
the real historical individual should be set forth. 1. 
The story of the real character is not for the purpose of 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 241 

teaching history alone, but for teaching morals as well. 
Hence the simple before the complex. The story of 
the person is simpler than the story of the event. The 
story of one person like Washington, Lee, or Lincoln 
is far simpler than the stories of a series of events made 
up by the cooperation of many individuals. 2. The 
story of the boyhood of Raleigh, Clay, or Edison delights 
the child in this stage of development. What they 
overcame as boys is a constant source of encouragement 
to the poor boy and awakens the admiration of the boy 
who is well to do. 3. In no other way can justice be 
done, oftentimes, to great men. Great men change 
their minds and are the greater for doing so. We must, 
therefore, see the whole life of the person. Patrick 
Henry was a hero of the Revolution. But the child's 
admiration is dampened when he sees him throw the 
whole weight of his great name against the Constitution. 
Did we not see him, in the campaign of 1798, recognize 
his error and come out strongly in support of Washington's 
administration? We should not miss the last great act of 
this noble man. 4. In this stage of the pupil's develop- 
ment, it is a pity that he should lose the great moral 
lessons historical biography has to teach. In no other 
line of study does this opportunity come to him as it 
does in biography. 

ETHICAL VALUE OF HERO STUDY, 

Pioneer Stories. The above outline of stories fur- 
nishes not only an illustration of a simple classification 
such as children in the 4th to 6th grades enjoy but 
furnishes to them the great names in American History. 
These names, it will be observed at a glance, are the 
ones belonging, for the most part, in the pioneer stage 
of development. The conditions under which they 
were born, amid which they were reared, and in which 



242 Elementary History Teaching 

they .accomplished their work, were the plainest, simplest, 
and often the hardest, possible. The fact that the 
pupil sees the hard conditions out of which noble lives 
grow and witnesses the struggle upward in spite of 
obstacles, not only arouses admiration for the hero, 
but gives courage and vigor to his own resolutions. 
The story of such a character appeals to the child of 
the well to do as well as to the child of toil. The story 
excites admiration in the one and hope in the other. 

Nature of the Problem. How to make the study of 
the historical person yield the most valuable results is 
a real problem. It would seem that no more powerful 
formative influence can take hold on the heart and 
mind of the pupil than a splendid heroic character. The 
life of the child grows toward the life he studies and 
admires. He will consciously strive to realize in his 
own conduct what attracts him in the conduct of his 
hero. No doubt the unconscious influence of such 
study is even greater than the conscious. It reaches 
into the life of the pupil in a way that eludes the teacher 
and parent, — both wonder where certain opinions and 
actions originate, without being able to discover the 
cause; even the pupil cannot explain it, for he is not 
conscious, in many instances, of following any one in 
his conduct. 

Hero worship partly explains the attraction which 
youthful minds find in the cheap novel. Surely, the 
teacher should be as wise as the novelist, and may be 
wiser than some novelists, for in a measure the teacher 
may select the characters presented for study and moral 
guidance. In making this selection the teacher will be 
guided by the ethical welfare of the pupil, and will cer- 
tainly not feed the young imagination and emotions upon 
abnormal examples of either goodness or wickedness; 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 243 

and while it is no doubt wise that gentle, generous, 
noble, self-sacrificing, and patriotic characters should 
constitute the predominant themes for study, yet it 
remains true that real life for which the pupil is pre- 
paring will present many characters just the opposite 
of what it is possible to select for him from the pages 
of history. In the affairs of life it will be just as necessary 
for his own good and that of his country that he should 
courageously condemn the low and base as praise the 
noble and brave. 

How to Preserve a Balance. Can hero study be 
made to stimulate, not only admiration for the good, 
but condemnation for the bad? In two ways, it seems 
to me, this result may be reached. First, by watching 
a hero in his struggle against the wrong. This increases 
admiration for the hero. Second, by presenting the 
opposite sort of hero now and then, so that the pupil's 
hatred for cowards, traitors, thieves and self-seekers 
may be strengthened, and his appreciation of the noble 
qualities of men may become stronger by seeing the evil 
results that flow from men of opposite character. Under 
certain limitations ignoble conduct excites greater respect 
and admiration for its opposite, and may cause the 
pupil to resolve to practice, and otherwise promote, the 
positive virtues. This can be successfully accomplished 
by the wise leadings of the teacher. Not much of the 
interpretation of the conduct of noble characters is 
necessary, for their lives speak a language directly to 
the heart; but the negative character, like Arnold or 
General Charles Lee, must be handled with more care. 
Their lives illustrate how persons of great ability in 
high places may be dominated by selfish ends and bring 
great injury upon themselves, their friends, and their 
country. But too many such cases weaken the pupil's 



244 Elementary History Teaching 

faith in human nature,— a most disastrous result for all 
concerned. For this reason, as well as for the truth 
of history the teacher must see that the positive rather 
than the negative hero should occupy the greater share 
of attention. 

Great Ethical Qualities. Not all characters yield 
lessons of the heroic in the same degree. The wise 
teacher will not attempt to force either the story or 
the pupils. In this field of the moral the teacher must 
not appear to dominate the pupils, lest the suspicion be 
aroused that the teacher is trying to make goody goody 
children. Therefore, nothing should be done to urge 
them to follow the virtues of great men. A sensible 
degree of admiration can be expressed for these qualities 
without arousing either suspicion or opposition. On 
the whole, the concrete working out of a virtue bears 
its own lesson. 

The leading virtues may be enumerated here with 
the hope that the teacher may have them in mind and 
point them out to the pupils as occasion may warrant: 
love of humanity, of country, mercy, honor, courage, 
steadfastness, and duty. 

THE TEACHER AS A STORY TELLER 

The teacher of beginners should be a skillful story 
teller; especially is this true when the history story is 
to be told. Teachers who tell stories will generally 
observe the following points, consciously or unconsciously. 

i. Every teacher cannot expect to be a trained 
historian, yet every teacher must be well read on the 
subject matter of the story she tells. Her knowledge 
must be accurate and sufficient. 

2. With this matter as a basis she proceeds to 
construct an outline of her story, either on paper or 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 245 

simply in her thought. The latter is probably sufficient 
if the teacher be an expert. In no case should an outline 
be used when telling the story. 

3. The manner of telling the story is everything. 
The language and thought must be adapted to the pupil's 
grade of thinking, — otherwise the story will be a failure. 
The teacher's ability to make this adaptation is, in a 
large measure, the test of the teacher's success. This 
may consist in the choice of words or phrases or in paint- 
ing a scene so vividly that pupils feel that they have 
stood in the very presence of the things talked about. 

4. The story must flow right on — no hesitating, no 
stopping to pick up points omitted, but moving smoothly 
along. This does not mean that there are no stops in 
the story, but when there are they must not be due to 
a lack on the teacher's part, but must have been planned 
from the beginning. For instance, the teacher plans 
to stop at a given situation, for here is presented a 
problem for the pupils to solve. If they do not solve 
it now, the story will lose something for them. Such 
stops were not in mind when speaking of the movement 
of the story. The action in the story must keep right on. 

5. The great story teller does not obtrude herself. 
Her personality is kept in the background. Her 
gestures, actions, facial expressions, must be few rather 
than many, and must be appropriate. Unless they 
contribute to the interest and effectiveness of the story 
they must not be used. 

6. The teacher, deeply interested in her boys and 
girls, will dramatize simple scenes that lend themselves 
to such treatment. Boys and girls love to play at Indian 
games, a form of dramatization. They will be found to 
feel the same enthusiasm if the stories of various 
kinds be put into the form of a little play scene or scenes. 



246 Elementary History Teaching 

If well done, the interest will run high, and the pupils 
themselves will be found playing the scenes over again. 
7. There has been so much reference to the ethical 
and moral element, to the conflict between individuals 
and ideas, that it is hardly more than necessary to men- 
tion this as one of the essential ideas that every teacher 
must bring out. In fact, the unobtrusive moral lesson 
is a prime purpose for which the story is told. 

THE ORAL AND THE WRITTEN STORY 

The General Problem. The teacher must constantly 
bear in mind the great purpose of this period of school 
work, namely the transfer of the oral vocabulary of 
the pupil into a written one. This fact seems to suggest 
that the oral story predominates in the first three years 
of school life, while the written one should mark the 
work of the next three years — the fourth to the sixth 
grade, inclusive. The teacher who has time and who 
has great skill as a story teller will be likely to use the 
oral story longer than is indicated above, but the teacher 
who possesses neither time nor great skill will probably rely 
more upon the well-told written story in those early years. 

The Oral Story. No one can doubt that the oral 
story presents many interesting features which may 
be called advantages. 1. The oral story comes, not 
as a stranger, but as something with which the child is 
more or less familiar. The stories of grandmother, 
mother, sister, or of Sunday School teacher serve as a 
sort of introduction to the stories at school. The 
story at this age, from six to nine, arouses the pupil's 
greatest interest, because the teacher, as we have already 
seen, can vary language and thought to suit his stage of 
development. It is, therefore, more elastic than the 
written story just where it counts for most. 2. The 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 247 

teacher can make the story harder or easier, may appeal 
to the child's imagination, judgment, curiosity, power of 
invention, or to some characteristic form of feeling. 
3. But the greatest advantage of the oral story over the 
written is in the facility with which the teacher may 
set problems for the pupils to solve. 

The Problem of the Oral Story. History as well as 
mathematics is full of problems. The problem presented 
in the oral story is any condition, situation, or difficulty 
in the presence of which the teacher may stop the story 
and ask for a solution from the pupils. Pioneer stories, 
with their simple settings, furnish problems which call 
for the exercise of ingenuity, previous knowledge, or 
past experience of the pupils. In a small way, it puts 
the pupils on their mettle, and compels them to make 
use of previous knowledge and experience. They may 
blunder, but a blunder under effort is gain in power. 

1. Daniel Boone, living in North Carolina, resolved 
to cross the mountains into Kentucky to see that land 
of marvel and beauty. Problem: "What ought he to 
have taken with him ? ' ' He finally reached Kentucky but 
did not dare to stay many nights in the same place. 
"Why?" After his return to North Carolina, he 
decided, in company with other families, to move to 
that wonderful country. They crossed the mountains, 
and built a fort to protect themselves from the Indians. 
One day, Boone's daughter and a companion were stolen 
by the Indians. Boone raised a party, pursued the 
Indians, and finally saw them getting ready to spend the 
night. "How shall they rescue their daughters?" 

Any oral story has a number of problems which may 
be set for the pupils. Their solution will furnish the 
children with intense pleasure, and will give them skill 
in putting meaning into action. 



248 Elementary History Teaching 

The Advantages of the Written Story. In presenting 
the story to the last of the first three grades, the wise 
teacher will try out her pupils in their ability to read 
with ease the parts or the whole of the written story. 
This trial not only makes the pupil gradually acquainted 
with the written story, but has a tendency to make the 
pupils independent of the teacher. A second advantage 
is offered in the written story : It opens up a wider field 
of endeavor to the children. They become acquainted 
with many characters and with the events in which these 
heroes participate. In a sense the children cut loose 
from the dependence on the teacher's story and are 
now seeking for themselves. This feeling of independence 
brings its own enjoyment. 

But a third reason may now be cited: The written 
story, too, offers problems. Perhaps not so many as 
does the oral story, but as many as the pupils will find 
time to solve. There are myriads of relations which 
the story cannot stop to make clear or even to suggest. 
This is true even of the history of several volumes. The 
only need is that the teacher shall be historian enough 
to see the relation or fact that lies just below the surface 
and be able to set the problem in the form of a question. 
Magellan, in his great voyage around the world, passed 
the first winter on the coast of Patagonia. He found 
winter beginning with Easter and ending with August. 
How is this to be explained? (Mace's Primary History, 
p. 22.) In marching to Mexico, the men of Cortes could 
hardly keep their hands off the gold and silver ornaments 
worn by the natives. Why were the Spaniards so hungry 
for gold? (Mace's Primary History, p. 25.) Why should 
the settlers at Jamestown be afraid of the Spaniards? 
What does it mean that William Brewster gave up his 
chance at the court of Queen Elizabeth to become one 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 249 

of the Pilgrims? How many times did William Penn 
stand at the parting of the ways and hold on to his Quaker 
ideas? (Mace's Primary History, paragraph 63.) What 
made La Salle build a fort at Starved Rock? (Mace's 
Primary History, p. 129.) Of what use was it to George 
Washington, as a growing lad, to learn the ways of a 
backwoodsman ? 

A fourth point may be made in regard to the written 
story. It has been claimed by the partisans of the oral 
story that the written one is an excuse for all sorts of 
bad teaching. We have the right to assume that the 
teacher of a written story is as good as the teacher of 
the oral story. Would such a teacher permit her pupils 
in dealing with the written story to fall into the habit 
of committing to memory the story? Why should she, 
when there are plenty of problems waiting for solution? 

European-American History 
sixth grade 

Nature and Purpose. Whether or not we agree with 
the idea that we have come to the place where we must 
study European history, we must hold that some features 
of that history ought to be studied in order to understand 
American history. What part of European history helps 
to an understanding of American history? All of it, 
or certain parts of it? Perhaps the teacher of European 
history and the teacher of American history would 
answer the question differently. But the teacher in 
the grades is no more a teacher of history than she is 
of arithmetic or geography. Hence it is fair to assume 
that she will insist on reducing European history to a 
minimum, because her great object is training for citi- 
zenship — for living in an American community. She 
would naturally recall that other subjects and other 
17 



2j0 Elementary History Teaching 

history are vitally connected with the child's every 
day institutional environment. Whatever makes for 
the pupil's mastery of his environment is of first conse- 
quence to her. The effect of all the pupil studies is to 
socialize himself. Whatever of European history he 
studies in this year must have some practical bearing 
on making him master of his environment. 

If this be true, then that portion of European history 
bearing on American history is the field from which 
material is to be drawn. This field is a narrow one, for 
we must remember that pupils at eleven years of age 
are not men and women of mature judgment and of 
profound convictions, but are boys and girls of keen 
imagination, rather immature judgment, and with 
emotions that need guidance. 

A Brief Outline of Related European History. Such 

a course must be, in the light of the facts, only tentative. 

Many teachers will prefer to carry further than the fifth 

grade their study of heroes and leaders in American 

history. 

PREPARING THE WAY 

I. Where Americans Were Born. 
i . Some in this country. 

2. Others in Europe — a few in Asia. 

3. A list of the countries in which the parents or grand- 

parents were born. Find the countries on the map. 
II. How the People Came. 

1 . Perhaps some child can tell the story. 

2. Blue prints of immigrant ship, crowds landing and, 

by way of contrast, show cut of Mayflower, 
Hudson's Halfmoon, and so on. 
III. When America Was Unknown to the White Man. 

1. How the world looked when Christ was born, — a 

map showing peoples around the Mediterranean, 
and some spots in Asia and Africa. 

2. What the people thought of the size and shape of 

the world. 
IV. What the World Had by Way of Inventions. 

1 . Make a list of modern inventions. 

2. Inventions of the time of Columbus. 

3. Inventions before the time of Columbus. 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 251 

THE PEOPLE CALLED THE GREEKS 

I. Greek Stories We Have Heard. 

1. Have a Greek boy tell famous deeds done long ago. 

2. Teacher may read or tell a story from the Iliad or 

the Odyssey. 
II. What the Greek Boy" Did. 

1. Went to School. What he studied. 

2. Spent time in the gymnasium. 

3. Attended the great national games. 

III. Men Who Carried Ways of Living to Other Lands. 

1. Sailors and ships carried commerce on the 

Mediterranean. 

2. Alexander the Great, who went eastward. 

3. Colonists, who settled eastward and westward. 

IV. What We Get from the Greeks. 

1. Sculpture, architecture, alphabet, and so on. 

2. Show blue prints of Athens, the Acropolis, Parthenon. 

3. Show blue prints of famous sculpture. 

THE PEOPLE CALLED THE ROMANS 

I. Romans We Have Heard About. 

1. Have an Italian boy tell the story of Romulus and 

Remus, Horatius, Cincinnatus, and Julius 
Caesar. 

2. Blue prints of Rome, the city. 

II. Story of the Conquests of Julius Cesar. 

III. Rome and Christianity. 

1. A time of peace when it began. 

2. Christ and St. Paul. 

3. Persecution of the early Christians. 

4. Roman emperor becomes Christian — Constantine. 

IV. Nations Coming Out of Rome — Italians, French, and 

Spaniards. 
V. What We Get from Rome. 

THE PEOPLE CALLED THE TEUTONS 

I. Germans We Hear About. 

1. Have a German tell the stories of the early Teutons 

and the modern Germans. Frederick, the 
Great and Bismarck (blue prints). 

2. How the early Germans conquered Rome. 

3. How the Anglo-Saxons conquered England. 

4. How the modern Germans have scattered over the 

world. 
II. The Early English. 

1. Tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round 

Table. 

2. Story of King Alfred and the Danes (blue prints of 

Vikings and Norse ship). 



252 Elementary History Teaching 

III. Englishmen of the Middle Ages. 
i. Begin to win their liberties. 

(a) King John a bad king. 

(b) The Great Charter and the barons. 

2. How men lived. 

(a) In the towns and on feudal estates. Towns 

and farmers of the modern world. 

(b) The church and the people. 

3. "What Germans and Anglo-Saxons give us. 

CRUSADES SWEEP ALL EUROPE 

I. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land. 

1. Beginnings of travel. 

2. Trouble with the Turks. 

II. The Crusades or Religious Wars. 

1. The Story of Peter the Hermit. 

2. The capture of Jerusalem. 

3. Richard the Lion-hearted. 

4. Effects of the Crusades on travel and trade, on 

cities like Genoa, Venice, London (blueprints). 

5. What Europe learned from the Crusades. 

DISCOVERY OF THE WESTERN WORLD 

I. The Norsemen, "Leif the Lucky," (blue prints) Mace's 

Primary History, pp. 1-3. 
II. Story of Marco Polo. Mace's Primary History, pp. 3-7. 

III. Prince Henry and the Portuguese. 

IV. The Story of Columbus. Mace's Primary History, pp. 8-20. 

1 . Early life and difficulties. 

2. The voyages of Columbus. 

V. The Men Who Did What Columbus Failed to do. 
Mace's Primary History, pp. 21-41. 

1. Magellan, who sailed round the world. 

2. Cortes, and Pizarro who discovered rich cities. 

3. The men who failed to find rich cities — Coronado 

and De Soto. 
VI. The People Who Made America Known to Englishmen 
and Who Checked the Power of Spain. 
Mace's Primary History, pp. 42-54. 

1. John Cabot, searching for snorter route to India, 

finds the mainland of North America. 

2. Elizabeth the Queen, who made England strong and 

great. 

3. Story of Sir Francis Drake, who sailed the Spanish 

main and singed the King of Spain's beard. 

4. Story of Sir Walter Raleigh, the friend of Queen 

Elizabeth, who planted a colony in America to 
check the king of Spain. 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 253 

OTHER RIVALS OF SPAIN 

I. France and the Frenchmen in America. Mace's Primary 
History, pp. 116-119. 

1. Jacques Cartier. 

2. Coligny's Colony in Florida. 

3. Samuel de Champlain. 
II. Holland and the Dutch. 

1. William the Silent, A Dutch Hero. 

2. Story of Hudson. Mace's Primary History, pp. 

95-104. 

THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADES 

The Story of the Event. During the first five or six 
years of school life we have been mainly concerned with 
the story of a person, sometimes the product of the 
imagination and at others a real historical person. At 
times, during the sixth year, we were compelled to move 
over to the story of an event. The difference between 
the two types of stories is largely a difference of emphasis. 
In the one story the great individual stands out and 
takes precedence over every other thing ; it is what he does 
and says that concerns the story. In the other case the 
great man sinks in importance. He is now one among 
many engaged in the action, though perhaps the most 
important. The event is looked upon as groups of men 
perfoiming deeds. What is meant by the story of the 
event ? By this we mean such a narration and description 
of an event that one hearing or reading it pictures it as 
though he saw the action taking place. 

The event as an external thing is an action. It has the 
qualities of a thing physical and appeals to the senses as 
if it had been seen, heard, and felt by one who took part 
in it. As a physical object it occupies time and space 
while occurring. The people who took part in it can be 
counted. The action takes a given physical form, a 
convention, a marching army, or a howling mob. By 
virtue of these physical characters we can picture it in 



254 Elementary History Teaching 

imagination. Without this aid the picture would be 
impossible, and without the picture how could we get hold 
of the meaning of the event? 

THE OBJECTS OF THE STORY OF THE EVENT 

Immediately, with respect to knowledge, one object in 
view is to give the pupil possession of the picture side of 
the leading events of American history, so that he may 
know how American history appeared to the people who 
made it, and at the same time have some appreciation of 
their thoughts and feelings. Pictures of events may not 
be a high form of historical knowledge, but they certainly 
do enrich the mind of the possessor. They give to it not 
only richness of imagery, but a variety that confers life 
and elasticity. The very presence of imaged events must 
make the mind vastly more fertile than it would otherwise 
be, and will give it the power of self-employment and 
self-entertainment. There is a vast difference between 
young persons who have abundant mental resources and 
those whose minds are empty. To give the young people 
the power to call up in brilliant and imposing review the 
procession of events from the beginning of American 
history to the present day is a task worthy of the highest 
pedagogical skill, especially when one thinks of the con- 
sequences which may flow from it. 

At the beginning of this form of the story, emphasis is 
put on the picturable side of events; but the study of 
their meaning must not be neglected. Although the 
pupil is able to get more picture than meaning, yet he 
must get all of the latter his ability will allow. The 
simpler forms of thought and sentiment of individuals and 
groups are now possible to him and will add interest and 
value to the work. However, as the pupil moves through 
this field, the teacher should gradually shift the emphasis 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 255 

to the side of the event's content till this feature dominates 
the work. The transition should be so gradual as to be un- 
conscious to the pupil and in no way diminish his efforts 
in gathering picturable material for the recitation. The les- 
sons may still be assigned in terms of the external features 
of the event, but the recitation should call for the pupil's 
effort to find the event's simpler relations and significance. 

On the side of mind, the immediate purpose of this sort 
of story-making is to train the imagination — to give it 
power and facility in performing its functions. No richer 
opportunity of cultivating the sensuous imagination will 
ever come to the pupil; no other subject will furnish it 
more exercise than this phase of history. 

Remotely, the purpose here is to prepare for the begin- 
nings of that form of history work in which the processes 
and products of the understanding are the characteristic 
features. This portion of the story side of history forms 
a natural transition to the reflective or logical phase. In 
the first place, it deals with the same individual facts and 
events; and, in the second place, the action of the judgment 
in the form of inference comes into play as a constantly 
growing factor. The remarks already made concerning 
the dependence of the advanced form of history work upon 
the picture form of it had particular reference to the 
picture side of the event. Both the unfolding mental life 
of the pupil and the relation of dependence between the 
phases of history work demand that the teacher shall look 
beyond this particular form to the higher one toward which 
the pupil is moving, and that the present work shall be 
constantly modified to meet these more remote ends. It 
requires little effort to see the great gain to the pupils in 
the seventh and eighth grades who have covered the 
leading events of American history in this way when 
they come to the more thoughtful work. 



256 Elementary History Teaching 

THE MATERIAL FOR THE STORY OF THE EVENT 

There need be little discussion as to where appropriate 
material is to be found. It is abundant all along the way, 
from the discovery of America to our day. It will be 
safe generally to follow the order of events as presented 
in some good text on American history. While the 
sequence of events is now to have weight, yet the teacher 
is not to try to cover each of the events by a story, but 
rather is to make a selection of events determined partly 
by their importance and partly by the ease with which 
the facts permit of this kind of treatment. But so far 
as the materials for the story are concerned, the ordinary 
text furnishes little more than a dry outline. In most 
cases it is not adapted to this sort of work. Generally it 
is a skeleton narrative, while it ought to be narrative- 
descriptive, not only exhibiting to the imagination 
interesting movements of men and events, but also 
presenting an abundance of concrete acts and other 
details, which reveal, to some extent, the thoughts and 
feelings behind them. On the other hand, it is no un- 
common mistake for history text-books to do too much for 
the pupil by giving what he ought to discover by interpre- 
tation. The pupil is thus deprived of his right to think 
out for himself what he is easily capable of doing, and 
what he must be allowed to do, if he is to get growth out of 
this subject. Instead of permitting independent effort, 
the text-book often gives him a ready-made solution, as 
would be said in arithmetic, and his only apparent work 
is to memorize it and give it back to the teacher in the 
memorized and unassimilated form. Such a text-book 
deprives the teacher and the pupil of the opportunity of 
setting and solving problems in history. Lacking this 
stimulus, she assigns the lesson in terms of paragraphs and 
pages instead of content. 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 257 

Illustration and Method of Work. An example of 
the story side of the event will explain more fully its 
nature and purpose, and at the same time illustrate the 
method to be employed. Let us take the Boston Tea 
Party. This presupposes that the pupil has dealt in like 
manner with the Stamp Act, the Congress of 1765, the 
Boston Massacre, and other related acts. The pupil must 
look, as it were, on the Boston Tea Party, and see it as it 
occurred. If the teacher has the power to make him feel 
the jostle of the crowd and hear the voices of the multitude 
so vividly that he loses himself for the time being, so much 
the better. This result can be brought about by a word 
picture of the event. 

Early one morning, in the middle of December, 1773, on 
the roads leading to Boston, for a distance of twenty 
miles around, were seen men singly and in groups making 
their way to town. Let us look at these people. They 
are engaged in earnest conversation; some of them shake 
their heads and fists. As the distance grows shorter, 
people are on foot ; the numbers increase till it seems that 
all the country villages are emptying their people, on that 
cold day, into Boston. As they approach the city they 
find it all astir; the shops and. stores are closed; men are 
gathered in groups discussing the question whether the 
tea shall be landed or not ; messengers are running to and 
fro over the city, and a general movement toward the 
"Old South Meeting-House" is noticed. There, at ten 
o'clock, the vast crowd assembles to hear the answer of 
the owner of one of the vessels, whether he will take 
his cargo of tea back to England. The meeting organizes 
by the election of a Moderator, and Mr. Rotch, the vessel 
owner, tells the meeting that the collector of the port 
refuses to let him go back with his tea; the meeting 
then orders him to hurry to the governor and get his 



2j8 Elementary History Teaching 

permission to pass by the guns of Castle William. While 
the anxious owner goes in search of the governor, who 
has stolen away to his country seat to avoid the crowds, 
the great mass meeting adjourns till the afternoon. 

At three o'clock, all the town tried to get into the 
1 'Old South Meeting-House," crowding its seats and 
galleries, standing in its aisles and around the entrance, 
— seven thousand people tried to hear and see what was 
said and done. Great enthusiasm was excited when one 
speaker asked "how tea would taste in salt water," and 
another said: "Now the hand is to the plough, there 
must be no looking back." Closest attention was given 
to the earnest advice of Josiah Quincy, as he counseled 
moderation and prophesied of the great struggle near at 
hand. Samuel Adams, of course, was listened to in that 
winter's afternoon. Night came on and lights were 
brought in, but no answer was at hand from the governor, 
and yet the people waited. There was a feeling, "as 
the cold night darkened about, that the last scene was 
about to be enacted." At 6.15 Rotch came in and told 
the breathless audience that the governor would not let 
the tea go back. Samuel Adams arose and said: "This 
meeting can do nothing more to save the country." 
This seemed to be a signal, for immediately the war- 
whoop of the "Mohawks" startled the audience; it was 
answered from the galleries; the whole audience shouted 
its approval, poured out into the street and noisily fol- 
lowed the "Mohawks" to the wharf. See the Indians 
clamber over the sides of the vessel; whooping and 
brandishing their tomahawks, they rush down to the hold 
and up come the boxes of tea — two hundred and forty of 
them — which are thrown into the sea. The work was 
hardly done before the swift couriers were hastening with 
the news to leading Massachusetts towns. All New 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 259 

England was thrilled by the news as it sped by one means 
or another from province to province. On the next day, 
Paul Revere, the courier of the Revolution, rode away to 
New York and Philadelphia to carry the tidings of that 
day's work. At every farmhouse, village, or city he told 
the story. There was great rejoicing, ringing of bells, bon- 
fires, speeches, toasts, — and all in honor of the patriots 
of Boston. Philadelphia had two meetings in celebration 
of the event, and the last one, attended by five thousand 
people, sent a vote of thanks to the Bostonians. The 
news was carried far to the southward, and even from the 
Carolinas came back words of approbation and good will. 
After a fashion, the above paragraph indicates the kind 
of word-pictures the pupil should find in a text-book. 
What shall the pupil do with this sort of material? In 
the first place, he should not commit the language. In the 
second place, if the teacher wishes the pupil to solve the 
problem before the recitation, the lesson will be assigned 
in terms of the thoughts and feelings of the people; while, 
if the teacher wishes the solution to be thought out in the 
class, the lesson will be assigned in terms of the picture. 
To accomplish the latter purpose, the teacher assigns the 
lesson about as follows: 1. Read the story of the Tea 
Party till you can see, with your eyes shut, the acts of 
the people from beginning to end. 2. Tell the number of 
great scenes in the picture, and describe the acts of the 
people in each scene. These directions will prepare the 
pupil for the real struggle that comes in the recitation, — 
the passing by inference from the deeds of the people to 
their thoughts and feelings. But if the former plan is 
pursued, the directions may take a form like the following : 
1. What conclusions can you draw from seeing so many 
country people on their way to Boston at the same time? 
Prove your answer from their acts. 2. How were the 



260 Elementary History Teaching 

people of the town feeling over the question of the tea? 
Give reasons. 3. What is the meaning of the meeting 
of the country and town people together, hearing and 
applauding the same speeches, voting the same resolutions, 
and participating in the destruction of the tea? 4. Did 
not the persons who destroyed the tea feel guilty of wrong- 
doing? Prove your answer. 5. Why was the news 
carried so quickly to the Massachusetts and other New 
England towns? 6. Why was Paul Revere sent to New 
York and Philadelphia with the news of the Tea Party, 
and what is the meaning of the responses that greeted 
him and the people of Boston? 7. Did the governor of 
Massachusetts agree with the people? Prove your 
answer. 8. What do you infer as to the effect of the work 
of the Tea Party on England? Why? 

These questions, or others of a similar import, should be 
put to the class before or during the recitation. If used in 
assigning the lesson, they will force the pupil to go through 
the language to the ideas expressed — will force him to 
go down below the surface play of events into the hearts 
and minds of the people. This would cause the pupil to 
study and re-study the story of the event, and would, no 
doubt, leave him in possession of as full a picture of the 
scene as if the lesson had been assigned in terms of the pic- 
ture. How many of these questions can the pupil answer ? 
Nearly, if not quite, all of them. How many can he find 
formally answered in the above sketch? He ought to 
find none. Suppose the text should indicate somewhat in 
detail the answers to these questions. What difference 
would it make to the pupil? All the difference between 
the work of an active, sharpened judgment and the monot- 
onous grind of the memory ! Why not give the pupil an 
opportunity to think a little in history? 

It will be noted that in this transition phase attention is 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 261 

being directed to the content of the acts put forth. Now, 
while this is still Story work, yet the work of stimulating 
the historical judgment must be kept in mind and must 
become more and more prominent as the student grows 
stronger through discipline and knowledge. 

STORY OP THE EVENT, OR WORD - PICTURES TAKEN FROM 
MACE'S SCHOOL HISTORY 

35. The First Representative Assembly in America 
(1619). On July 30th, Governor Yeardley and his council 
of advisers, together with the burgesses, met in the 
little wooden church at Jamestown, organized the Gen- 
eral Assembly of Virginia, and began the work of self- 
government on this continent. The picture is worth 
remembering. The governor and his council, keeping 
their hats on, took the front seats, while the burgesses 
occupied those in the rear. The session was opened with 
prayer by the clergyman, after which each member took 
the oath. A speaker, his clerk, and a sergeant were 
elected and sat facing the assembly. Some members, 
not having been regularly elected, were dismissed. 1 The 
instructions which the company had given Yeardley were 
brought in and read, in order to see whether there was 
in them "any law pressing or binding too hard — because 
this great Charter is to bind us and our heirs forever." 

83. Fall of Andros. One day the commander of the 

war vessel which was stationed in Boston Harbor came 

on shore. The ship carpenters who were collected on 

1 Most of these were English customs. The members of the 
House of Commons still sit with their hats on, a custom which 
probably once signified the equality of its members, but which is 
now kept up because the English like to preserve old and quaint 
ways. The Commons still have their Speaker, who does not speak 
much, but who acts as a kind of chairman and wears a wig instead 
of a hat. The Burgesses imitated the Commons in having a secre- 
tary and a sergeant, in taking an oath, and in exercising the right 
to dismiss members. 



262 Elementary History Teaching 

the pier arrested him. Great excitement followed; the 
sheriff tried to stop it, but the crowd arrested him, too. 
The boys of the town gathered with clubs in their hands 
drums beat the alarm, signal fires blazed on Beacon Hill, 
and Andros and his officers fled to the fort. 

The former governor, Bradstreet, now appeared, and 
the people gave a mighty shout. A committee of safety 
was appointed and Boston was ready to fight for its 
liberties. A thousand soldiers gathered at Charlestown, 
and the next day hundreds of men from the country, 
headed by a schoolmaster, came swarming in to the city 
to fight. The governor's castle was taken, the warship 
captured, and the forts seized. Andros surrendered, and 
New England was again free. 

128. Rent Day on the Hudson. On the great estates 
owned by the patroons, events took place which were 
seen nowhere else in the colonies. The patroon's house, 
usually made of brick or stone, was of great size, often 
three stories high. The rooms were many and large, and 
frequently finely decorated. The furniture and the dia- 
mond-shaped windows spoke of great wealth. Around 
the mansion ran wide, well-cared-for walks lined with 
beautiful shrubbery. Farther away lay the gardens and 
the orchards, sometimes extending down to the Hudson. 
Near by stood the great barns where the grain was stored 
and where horses and cattle found comfortable quarters. 
Nearer still were the plainer houses for the white and the 
black servants belonging to the patroon. How like the 
estate of some European lord all this appears ! 

Once or twice a year rent day came around. Then all 
the small farmers living on the patroon's vast estate 
gathered with rent money in their pockets, and in their 
wagons they brought the patroon's share of what they 
had raised. It was a holiday and every farmer and his 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 263 

family were dressed in their best clothes. A great feast 
was prepared. An ox, sheep, and pigs had been roasted. 
Dozens of servants, white and black, hastened to and fro, 
waiting upon the people, who ate, drank, and made 
merry. Everybody declared that the patroon was a 
kind-hearted man. But when the farmers went to their 
homes to begin again their hard labor, they could not 
help wishing that the farms were their own and that 
they did not have to pay rent. 

147. When the Great Ship Came to the Planter's 
Door. The southern planters, when possible, selected 
their homes on some river and near the sea. This made 
it easy to travel from plantation to plantation or from 
colony to colony, and enabled the annual ship from Lon- 
don to land at the planter's own wharf. For weeks 
everybody talked of the coming of the ship, of news from 
friends, and of the fine clothes and furniture it would 
bring fresh from their old English homes. 

How all "hands" worked to get the tobacco and other 
products ready for the great vessel! What stir and 
excitement as the ship first came into view, sailing up the 
river! What joy it brought to every one! Good news 
from the old home; letters, presents, and perhaps some 
long absent friend! Then came the work and noise of 
unloading what the planter had bought, and of loading 
what he had to sell. While all this bustle was going on, 
the planter and his family were entertaining, in true 
plantation style, the officers of the ship, and settling up 
accounts and giving orders for the next year. 

202. The First Continental Congress (1774). In 
this spirit the First Continental Congress met in Car- 
penters' Hall, Philadelphia. It was the greatest meeting 
of great Americans yet held. They came from all the 
colonies except Georgia. Some of them were acquainted 



264 Elementary History Teaching 

through correspondence; others were known from 
their writings; but most of them had never met face to 
face. 

Here Samuel Adams, author of the " Circular Letter," 
met Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, and they became 
lifelong friends. Here, too, was John Dickinson of 
Pennsylvania, writer of the ''Farmer's Letters" which all 
the members had read. Patrick Henry and John Adams, 
the two great orators of the Revolution, listened to each 
other for the first time, and Roger Sherman of Connecticut, 
who had once learned the shoe-maker's trade, was wel- 
comed by the Rutledges, who were proud planters from 
South Carolina. 

George Washington, the man to lead their armies, was 
there. Men of all sorts of religious opinions were gathered 
in Carpenters' Hall — Congregationalists, Presbyterians, 
Huguenots, Episcopalians, Baptists, and Quakers. 
Nevertheless, these men were resolved to do everything 
they could to unite the colonists against England. 

218. The Victory at Trenton (1776). Lord Corn- 
wallis, leading Howe's advance, had followed hard upon 
the heels of Washington to Trenton. The British could 
not cross the Delaware, for Washington had destroyed all 
the boats within reach. Cornwallis stationed his forces 
at different places along the river and then returned to 
New York to share in the Christmas festivities. 

Washington quickly saw his opportunity. It was 
Christmas night. The Hessian soldiers stationed in 
Trenton had been feasting and drinking all day, as was 
their custom. The weather was bitter cold, and snow 
and sleet were falling. "Surely," thought the half -tipsy 
Hessian sentinels, "it is of no use to watch. There can 
be no danger such a night as this." 

But if they had listened they might have heard the 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 265 

tramp of marching feet and the rumble of wheels. Wash- 
ington and his men had crossed the Delaware amid the 
floating ice, and were pressing forward to Trenton. 
Their feet left bloodstains on the snow and their ragged 
clothes could not keep out the cold. Two poor fellows 
were frozen to death. But the little army never faltered. 
It was the last chance for liberty. 

At daybreak the attack began. The sleepy Hessians 
were aroused from their beds, but it was too late. A 
few volleys, a wild charge, and all was over. One thousand 
of the enemy surrendered with all their cannon and 
supplies. It was one of Washington's most famous 
victories. 

238. Paul Jones and His Great Sea Fight. (1779). 
But the greatest American triumph on the sea came 
through the skill and courage of Paul Jones. During 
1778, in his little ship, the " Ranger," he spread terror 
among the seaports of the British Isles themselves. Now 
he dashed in and burned shipping ; now he pounced upon 
some vessel carrying the English flag, and now was off to 
France out of harm's way. 

In 1779, by the aid of Franklin, Jones obtained a fleet 
of five vessels in France and sailed around the north of 
Scotland and down the eastern coast to Flamborough 
Head. Here his flagship, the "Bon Homme Richard," 1 
met an English frigate, the "Serapis." They closed in 
deadly conflict, which raged far into the night. Paul 
Jones lashed the two vessels together, and no escape was 
possible for either. Some of his heaviest guns exploded, 
and his main deck was covered with dead and dying. 
The British vessel had lost nearly half her men. She 

x The "Good Man Richard," so named as a compliment to 
Franklin, whose Poor Richard's Almanac was famous for its quaint 
sayings. 

18 



266 Elementary History Teaching 

caught fire and her brave crew left their guns to battle 
with the flames. The "Bon Homme Richard" was not 
only on fire, but was filling with water. Still Jones fought 
on until the British captain surrendered. Thus, all 
at once, the "haughty mistress of the seas" had been 
humbled and the American flag had been raised in the 
estimation of the world. 

250. Washington Bids His Comrades Farewell. When 
the British army evacuated New York (November 25, 
1783) Washington took possession. He met his assem- 
bled generals for the last time. The parting of the men 
from the commander whom they had followed through 
the long, bitter struggle was deeply touching. Addressing 
them, Washington said: "With heart full of love and 
gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly 
wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and 
happy as your former ones have been glorious and honor- 
able. I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, 
but shall be obliged if each one of you will come and take 
me by the hand." In turn, he shook each officer affec- 
tionately by the hand and embraced him. Not a word 
was spoken. All then silently followed him to Whitehall 
Ferry. Having entered the waiting barge, he turned to 
the company, and, waving his hat, bade them a silent 
adieu. 

251. Washington Resigns and Retires to Mount 
Vernon, Washington journeyed to Annapolis, where 
Congress was in session, to resign his office as commander- 
in-chief of the American army. The governor and other 
state officers of Maryland, with certain military officers 
and ladies and gentlemen of. high standing, were pres- 
ent by invitation. The galleries were crowded. As 
was customary, the members of Congress sat with their 
hats on, to show their sovereign authority. The visitors 



The Picture- Making Phase of History 267 

all stood with uncovered heads during the ceremony. 

Washington arose and addressed the president of the 
Congress: "The great events on which my resignation 
depended, having at length taken place, I have now the 
honor ... to surrender into their (Congress's) 
hands the trust committed to me, and to claim the indul- 
gence of retiring from the service of my country. Hav- 
ing now finished the work assigned me, I retire, . 
bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body. 
. I here offer my commission and take my leave 
of all the employments of public life." 

Refusing to accept any reward for his long years 
of hard service, Washington hastened to Mount Ver- 
non, his stately home which still stands on the banks 
of the Potomac not far from the city of Washington, to 
enjoy once more with his family and friends the delights 
of the Christmas time. He was now indeed, as every- 
body felt, 

"The first, the last, the best, 
The Cincinnatus 1 of the West." 

270. Rejoicing Over the Victory (1788). When nine 
states had ratified the Constitution, the people knew the 
victory was won, and the friends of the "New Roof," 
as the Constitution was called, showed their joy. Cannon 
boomed, bonfires blazed, and processions filled the streets. 

But nowhere were the people happier over the result 

than in Philadelphia. The good news that the "Old 

Dominion" had ratified the Constitution made the people 

of Philadelphia resolve to celebrate the Fourth of July 

in grand style. Salutes were fired at sunrise. The bells 

in the city rang their noisy welcome as five thousand 

1 Cincinnatus was a great Roman general who left his plow for 
the war and, after he had won his victories, laid down his arms and 
returned to his farm. 



268 Elementary History Teaching 

people gathered in line for the parade. "Every trade, 
every business, every occupation of life was represented." 
When the procession ended, James Wilson, who had been 
one of the great defenders of the Constitution, deliv- 
ered an oration. The rejoicing continued far into the 
night. 

This was a fitting celebration of the greatest event of 
the American Revolution by a city which had witnessed 
the meeting of the Congress of 1774, the Declaration of 
Independence, and the Constitutional Convention. 

While the people are rejoicing over the new Consti- 
tution and are electing Washington to be their first 
President, we may take a closer look at the condition 
of the country after its long period of agitation and 
revolution. 

316. Victories on the Sea; The "Constitution" Cap- 
tures the "Guerriere." Little was expected from our 
navy. England laughed at the "fir-built things," and 
made sport of our "gridiron" flag. But a great surprise 
was in store for the world when the American frigate 
"Constitution" met the "Guerriere" off the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence (18 12). At the call of the fife and drum every 
man on the American vessel ran to his post. The sailors 
climbed into the rigging, the gunners double-loaded 
their cannon, and the powder boys ran for supplies of 
ammunition. Muskets and pistols were placed near at 
hand, and sand was scattered over the deck. 

The "Guerriere" had already opened fire, but Captain 
Hull of the "Constitution" waited till within pistol shot 
of the enemy. Then he fired a whole broadside. A Brit- 
ish mast fell! The ships now came close together and 
the American sailors tried to tie them fast. Both crews 
prepared to "board" and fight it out hand to hand, but 
the ships drifted apart. The noise of the cannon, the 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 269 

constant crack of muskets, the loud commands of offi- 
cers, the shrieks of the wounded, the clouds of smoke, 
the powder-stained faces of the gunners, all joined to 
make an awful scene. 

As the two vessels parted, the remaining masts of the 
"Guerriere" fell. With great holes torn in her side she 
lay a helpless wreck, and soon "struck" her flag to the 
"Constitution." Captain Hull carried his prisoners to 
Boston and received a rousing reception from the people. 
Salutes were fired, swords voted, resolutions passed, and 
bonfires burned to testify the people's joy. 

333 . The Canal. When steamboats from New Orleans, 
laden with European goods, began to supply the Western 
settlers, Eastern merchants became alarmed and called 
on Congress to build canals between the East and the 
West. Congress refused, because the majority believed 
that the Constitution gave them no power to appropriate 
money for such improvements, and the work was left 
for states to undertake. 

New York acted promptly. The Erie Canal, from 
Buffalo through the center of the state to Albany, was 
planned, and work upon it was begun in 181 7, under the 
enthusiastic leadership of Governor De Witt Clinton. 
Many men thought it impossible to build the canal, 
and ridiculed it as "Clinton's Big Ditch. " It was a great 
undertaking for that day. The canal crossed swamps, 
rivers, hills, and valleys, and was three hundred and 
sixty-three miles long, forty feet wide, and four feet deep. 
The depth was later increased to seven feet. 

In the autumn of 1825, when the waters of Lake Erie 
poured into the canal, the news was told to New York 
City by the firing of cannon placed five miles apart 
along the whole distance. Governor Clinton and other 
distinguished men with a "fleet" of canal boats began a 



2 jo Elementary History Teaching 

triumphal voyage from Lake Erie to the Atlantic. Cele- 
brations marked their progress, and wherever an impor- 
tant road crossed the canal, the farmers and villagers for 
miles around gathered to witness this strange voyage. 
On November 4th, with the ringing of bells and the 
firing of cannon in the city and surrounded by a fleet, 
Governor Clinton emptied kegs of water from Lake Erie 
into the ocean, to signify that the Great Lakes and the 
Atlantic Ocean were forever united. 

353. The Campaign of 1840. The distress caused 
by the panic and the unpopularity of Van Buren worked 
to the advantage of the Whig party. In 1837 the Ohio 
Whig convention nominated General William Henry 
Harrison for the Presidency. In 1838 thousands upon 
thousands greeted him upon his famous battlefield of 
Tippecanoe. Later, the Whig national convention at 
Harrisburg (1840) made him its candidate, and this 
action was ratified shortly after by a national convention 
of young Whigs. 

A campaign more enthusiastic and more exciting than 
even the Jackson campaigns was thus opened. Harrison 
was a popular hero. He had lived on the frontier in a 
log cabin whose "latchstring was always out." He had 
beaten the Indians, and had overwhelmed Proctor and 
Tecumseh on Canadian soil. He was now a plain farmer 
living in Ohio, and was the people's candidate. Van 
Buren, on the other hand, was called the "little aris- 
tocrat." It was said that he had always held office, and 
lived in a "palace" and ridden in a fine carriage, while 
the laborer was without work and the business man was 
a bankrupt. 

Such demonstrations, processions and barbecues had 
not yet been seen, nor had so many great orators ever 
before been heard in a campaign. But the Democrats 



The Picture- Making Phase of History 271 

had no orators equal to Clay and Webster, and no cam- 
paign songs as stirring as those of the Whigs. The 
Whigs further aroused the patriotic sentiment of the 
country by holding meetings on battlefields. The largest 
was the Bunker Hill jubilee. More than one hundred 
thousand people, many of them from distant states, 
joined in the demonstration. 

A Van Buren paper sneeringly said that if General 
Harrison were given a log cabin and a barrel of cider he 
would gladly give up his wish to be President and remain 
in Ohio. The Whigs immediately adopted these two 
objects as party emblems, and from that time on the 
log cabin and the barrel of cider became powerful argu- 
ments in favor of Harrison. The election gave the Whigs 
their first great victory. 

379. The Webster-Hayne Debate (1830). The fight 
against the tariff began in earnest when Vice-President 
Calhoun sent a long argument, called the " South Carolina 
Exposition," to the legislature of that state, declaring 
that the Constitution is only an agreement between the 
states as equal partners, and that any state may nullify 
an unconstitutional act of Congress (1828). 

Senator Hayne, a distinguished son of South Carolina, 
in a speech in the Senate, made a brilliant defense of the 
doctrine of nullification, and severely attacked New 
England. Men again thought the Union in danger, and 
Daniel Webster felt called on to reply. On the day set 
for the reply the Senate overflowed. There was not 
even standing room on the floor or in the galleries. People 
had come from distant cities, and "grave Senators were 
lost in the crowd of ladies." 

How grand was the scene when Webster arose! With 
his massive forehead towering above deep-set but powerful 
eyes; with broad shoulders and a commanding voice, 



2J2 Elementary History Teaching 

Webster stood forth, a striking figure. All paid closest 
attention, while he spoke for hours, linking his arguments 
into a chain that could not easily be broken. It is one 
of the great speeches in the English language, and "will 
live as long as the Union itself." Its closing words, 
"Liberty and union, now and forever, one and insepa- 
rable," went ringing throughout the land, and have become 
the ruling sentiment of the American people. In this 
debate Webster won the proud title of "The Defender of 
the Constitution." 

416. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and Their Effect. 
Lincoln challenged Douglas to debate the questions of 
the day before the people of Illinois. Douglas accepted, 
and during that summer seven "joint debates" were held 
in different towns. From miles and miles around the 
people came on foot, on horseback, in wagons, and on 
trains to hear the burning questions discussed by the 
two ablest debaters in Illinois. 

What a difference in the two men as they appeared on 
the platform ! Douglas was short and squarely built. He 
spoke rapidly and powerfully, and carried his hearers by 
storm. He loved a hand-to-hand fight, and was the 
greatest off-hand debater in America. Lincoln was tall, 
slender and awkward. He spoke slowly and calmly. 
His language was always simple, and often quaint and 
humorous. His plain, unpretending manner won its way 
to the hearts of the people. He was the one man Douglas 
feared. 

Lincoln arranged his arguments and put his questions 
on slavery so that Douglas by his answers was compelled 
either to please the people of Illinois and displease the 
people of the South, or to please the South and displease 
his own neighbors. 

As a result of the debate, Douglas lost the support of 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 273 

the South but won the senatorship. Lincoln, at the 
end of the campaign, was a man of national reputation, 
and invitations to speak in the cities of the East came 
to him. He had made himself a candidate for the Presi- 
dency. 

459. Pickett's Charge. Concealed from view by the 
forest on the slopes of Seminary Ridge, General Lee, on 
July 3d, massed the flower of his army for a last desperate 
assault upon the Union center. At midday occurred a 
fearful artillery duel; Lee was trying to silence Meade's 
guns. While the clouds of smoke rolled away, fifteen 
thousand Confederates, formed like a vast wedge and led 
by General Pickett, were seen moving across the valley. 
Nearly a mile away the Union forces under Hancock were 
viewing the onrushing lines of gray. Half the distance 
was passed when the Union artillery blazed forth. Great 
holes were torn in the Confederate ranks. They never 
faltered, but closed up and moved on. The long Hne of 
Union rifles sent forth their rain of death. The ranks 
grew thin. But on they came. General Armistead, lead- 
ing Pickett's advance, broke through Hancock's line and 
fell waving his hat on the point of his sword. A brief 
hand-to-hand struggle and the Union troops dashed for- 
ward to capture prisoners. Pickett sounded the retreat 
and "high tide" at Gettysburg had been reached. Lee's 
army was defeated and slowly retreated across the 
Potomac without further fighting. 

498. Negro Rule in the South. In most of the recon- 
structed states a majority of the members of the legis- 
lature were, at one time, negroes. They were a strange 
body of men to make laws for states so injured by war. 
Some were intelligent because they had been trusted 
servants of their masters, while others were ignorant, 
having spent their lives toiling in cotton and rice fields. 



274 Elementary History Teaching 

Some were well dressed, but many wore second-hand 
clothes, "glossy and threadbare." A few were clad in 
the coarse dress of field hands. All were ignorant of 
public business. 

How changed the scene to the old planters who, in the 
same halls, had heard the voices of Hayne and Calhoun, 
or of Toombs and Stephens! Now, if a white member 
rose to speak, he must address a former slave sitting in 
the Speaker's chair. If he offered a resolution, he must 
hear it read to the legislature by the negro clerk. If he 
served on an important committee, its chairman and a 
majority of its members were negroes. 

While the legislature was debating a bill to raise or 
to spend money, the greatest excitement would occur. 
Though the Speaker pounded his desk to keep order, 
many persons would be on their feet trying to speak at 
the same time. The noise of loud talking, and even 
laughing, went right on. Some members leaned back 
with their feet on the desks, smoking cigars or eating 
peanuts, while those who were to profit by the bill were 
busy trying to buy votes for it. 

535. The Making of New Towns; Increase in Size 
of Farms. Thousands of farmers moved into the new 
regions, carrying with them all their belongings, just as 
their fathers " moved west" earlier in our history. They 
made the same long journey by horse and wagon, camping 
by the wayside. Sometimes a number of "movers" 
traveled together into the wilder and more distant regions, 
for the Indians did not always look with favor upon this 
new wave of immigration. 

On the broad prairies, with only boundless fields of 
waving grass and flowers in sight, the settler marked out 
his claim and began making a home. Very often he had 
first to build a sod house, or "dug-out," for his family, 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 275 

and stake out his horses and cattle until he could provide 
temporary shelter. In time others settled near by. 
Then came a schoolhouse, a church, and a store. Into 
a corner of this store came a post office, and the people 
were once more in weekly communication with the old 
home. In a few years, if the location was favorable, the 
railroad came, and with it the telegraph and the daily 
papers from the great city, now only a few hours, instead 
of weeks, away. The little neighborhood was then in 
touch with the whole world. 

In the new prairie states there were farms such as had 
hardly been dreamed of before i860. Wealthy men 
bought thousands of acres of the rich prairie land and 
began farming on a gigantic scale. Many teams of 
horses or oxen were plowing at once. After a few years 
came the steam plow. Instead of a few hundred acres 
of corn or wheat or other grain, there were vast fields of 
waving grain covering thousands of acres. Hundreds of 
men and horses and dozens of machines were needed to 
harvest a single farm. Within the last few years the 
harvester and thresher have been combined, and now, 
on some of the great farms, a huge, complex machine 
makes its way, driven by steam, through miles of stand- 
ing grain, leaving behind it rows of threshed, measured, 
and bagged grain ready to be hauled to the market or to 
the mill. 

Word-Pictures. Named from the way they are 
produced, we call the foregoing selections word-pictures. 
Their object is to create in imagination great and lasting 
pictures of the events described. If we fail in this our his- 
tory work practically falls to the ground. The objection 
to rilling a text-book with word-pictures is that the text 
becomes too large. Such a text must necessarily be large. 
But what if it is? Which do the pupils prefer — a smaller 



2j6 Elementary History Teaching 

text without word-pictures or a larger text with word- 
pictures? Try them out. Give them the two texts and 
let them test the matter by choosing which they will use. 
There can be no doubt which the pupils will choose. In 
the first place, the reading of Pickett's Charge at Get- 
tysburg — as given above — will be far more interesting, 
and far easier because more interesting, than would be 
a three or four line account of the same event. Who 
would not rather read ten pages of the one than two of 
the other? 

The great defect in the word-picture is that only 
important events are so treated. But it does not follow 
that only such events are to be so pictured. The event 
of secondary importance needs this treatment to prevent 
a " dry-as-dust" treatment. The first settlers of Virginia 
were not given to labor, even the laborers among them. 
Here is the reason: "They were in a new land in the 
midst of strange sights and sounds; about them were vast 
forests peopled with birds and beasts of unknown lands; 
a new race of men was here with strange manners and 
customs. What wonders their imaginations pictured! 
A few miles inland might be another nation like the 
Mexicans, or just over the mountains the Pacific Ocean; 
among the hills, mines like those of Peru ; or deeper in the 
forests, streams whose sands were pure gold." (Mace's 
School History, p. 28.) 

See how few words are required to make a word-picture 
of the gathering at Boston of soldiers to make a Continental 
army: "Troops were ordered from Pennsylvania and 
Maryland to make the army besieging Boston more 
'continental.' Soon came the brave Daniel Morgan 
with his Virginia riflemen, in hunting-shirts, bearing 
Patrick Henry's famous words, 'Liberty or death.' 
Morgan saluted Washington and said, 'From the right 



The Picture -Making Phase of History 27 J 

bank of the Potomac, General ! ' Washington dismounted 
and with tears in his eyes went along the ranks shaking 
hands in turn with each man. They were his own 
neighbors!" (Mace's School History, p. 160.) 

Or how few are required to describe one of Jackson's 
celebrations: " Then the boats dropped down the river to 
New Orleans. The river near the city was filled with a 
fleet of steamboats packed with people. The housetops 
and the river banks were crowded. Visitors from far 
away were there. Distinguished men, committees with 
greetings from different states, veterans who had stood 
with Jackson when the British charged, all were pres- 
ent. The ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and 
waves of human huzzas were overwhelming. For four 
days the celebration went on." (Mace's School History, 
p. 272.) 

Again, the number of words is not large to picture 
the victory over Cervera's fleet: 

"To avoid capture, Cervera's ships, one after another, 
under a full head of steam, dashed out of the harbor and 
tried to escape (July 3, 1898). Every American ship in 
sight gave chase. Every engine on every vessel was 
working its best to drive the vessel forward; dense clouds 
of black smoke poured from each smokestack; the great 
guns shook the vessels and filled the air with a deafening 
roar. A Spanish vessel, torn by shot and shell, caught 
fire and ran for the shore; a second ran up the white flag, 
but was found to be sinking; a third blew up. 'Don't 
cheer, boys; the poor fellows are dying,' said an American 
captain, and not a cheer was heard." (Mace's School 
History, p. 452.) 

These events cannot rank in importance with those 
previously given, but, naturally of less importance, they 
require a smaller word-picture. Further, events that 



2j8 Elementary History Teaching 

take a still lower rank will have, on the whole, still less 
space devoted to their story. No teacher, who has not 
experienced the enthusiasm with which boys and girls 
work when using a text filled with word-pictures, can 
form any idea of the intense interest such a text awakens. 



HISTORY IN THE HIGH SCHOOL 

IMPROVING THE HISTORY COURSE 

Report of the Committee of Seven 

Nature of the Report. Within the last ten or fifteen 
years history courses in the high school have undergone 
frequent changes. It is not necessary to go back further 
than the report made by a committee of the American 
Historical Association called the Committee of Seven. 
This report was published in 1901. The members of the 
committee sought information on the subject of teach- 
ing history from any available source in this country 
and in Europe. They reported in favor of dividing the 
history of the world into four great periods: Ancient 
History, down to 800 a.d., to be studied in the first 
year of the high school; Medieval and Modern European 
History, to be studied in the second year; English History 
for the third year, to be studied, not only as a review of 
European History, but also as a preparation for American 
History. In the fourth year American History and 
Government. The Committee favored the study of 
Government as a part of American History. 

This report has furnished almost ideal conditions for 
historical study based on the logical method, the method 
in which the prime considerations are the relations in the 
subject matter itself. It is quite probable that for a long 
time to come, the older colleges will demand this for 
entrance. But the fundamental defect of the report lies 
in the fact that it failed to take into account the number of 
students lost to the high school by a curriculum that 
misses their interests. Not that the Committee of Seven 
was mostly to blame for this result. In truth, it was their 

279 



280 History in the High School 

report of four years' work in history that was, probably, 
the one subject that has done most to hold boys and girls 
to the high school. History would have done vastly more 
had not other interests reduced it to three, and sometimes 
to two years, and even to none where history is made 
elective. 

For a number of years this report was followed quite 
closely. But in the course of a few years a number of 
criticisms, based on experience or misconception of the 
purpose of the committee, were developed and discussed 
in various historical associations over the country. 
Finally, the American Association took up the questions 
raised and appointed the Committee of Five. 

Report of the Committee of Five 

Two of the former committee were on this new one. This 
committee gathered information by sending out circulars, 
and studying the reports of the work of certain sectional 
associations. The report was discussed and finally adopted 
by the American Historical Association. It was published 
in 1 9 1 1 . Among the recommendations made was one modi- 
fying the earlier report of the Committee of Seven. The 
new report proposed : i. Ancient History to about 800 a.d. 
with little emphasis given to the last 500 years. 2. Eng- 
lish History briefly touching the relations of England to 
the ancient world. Then it proposed to take up the main 
lines of English development to 1760, touching, as far 
as possible, the main facts of American colonization. 
3. Modern European History, touching later medieval 
life and the beginnings of the modern age, and giving a 
suitable treatment of English history since 1760. 4. 
American History and Government, setting aside some 
time for the separate study of government. 

The newer ideas of what should be taught in history 



Improving the History Course 281 

are seen from a part of the report: "Many teachers 
have come to feel strongly that the study of the past 
should distinctly help in understanding the present. 
They believe that for a knowledge of present social and 
political conditions there is need of a reasonable familiarity 
with the great changes of the past century, and that 
history courses should be so arranged as to allow ample 
opportunity for the study of the development and progress 
of modern Europe. ... In fact, probably many teachers 
would confess that their pupils know more of the Crusades 
than of the colonial expansion of Europe, and that Charle- 
magne and Peter the Hermit are more familiar figures 
than is Napoleon, or Cavour, or Bismarck. Such a con- 
dition cannot be justified." 

Report op the Committee on Social Studies 

The Origin of the Committee. Something had to be 
done, and that quickly. The tragedy of education is 
the number of bright, able, and spirited boys and girls 
not entering the high schools or leaving before the second 
year is reached. How to save them to the high school 
is the problem. To meet the situation the National Ed- 
ucation Association appointed a commission on the Reor- 
ganization of Secondary Education. One of the main 
subdivisions of the commission is the Committee on Social 
Studies, including history, civics, and economics. The 
Commission made a tentative report to the National 
Educational Association, July, 19 13, which was printed 
in Bulletin 41, 19 13, of United States Bureau of Educa- 
tion. The report was well received and the Commission 
continued. 

The Object of the Committee on Social Studies. The 
report just mentioned says: "It is probable that the 
high school teachers of social studies have the best 

19 



282 History in the High School 

opportunity ever offered to any social group to improve 
the citizenship of the land." To make good citizens is 
the purpose of all teaching in the public schools. But to 
give the student such a knowledge of his environment as 
will make him master of his civic rights and duties is the 
special aim of teaching history and civics. 

To reach this object will make history more or less of a 
practical subject. The student will see where his knowl- 
edge turns up in the affairs of everyday life. He will 
really discover how present day institutions came to be 
what they are. Whenever or wherever he studies a point 
in history, in Egypt, Greece, Rome, England, or even in 
America, the point must be connected up with modern 
life. Otherwise, it may have only a curious, or perhaps 
an academic, interest for him, or no interest whatever. 
How much of history lacks this vital practical element? 

How This Connection May Be Worked Out. The 
Egyptians had certain ideas about immortality and, 
therefore, certain customs of burial. The Greeks probably 
took these up and modified them. The Romans changed 
them still further, especially after the coming of Christ. 
The Roman Catholic Church made still greater changes. 
The Reformation introduced new conceptions of the soul 
after death and to-day the great variety of ideas on the 
subject shows the tremendous differentiation that has 
come since the days of old Egypt. It also shows how 
tenacious this idea has been in its continuity. How much 
interest is aroused when the student is put to working out 
this problem of the life-history of an idea! What sort 
of history is this? It is neither ancient, medieval, nor 
modern, but all three in one. It is the new kind of general 
history — the kind that socializes the student. It makes 
him feel that history has some meaning when he sees 
ancient ideas functioning in the present. 



Improving the History Course 283 

Not every idea in history lends itself to such treatment. 
Many facts have not preserved their continuity in so 
perfect a way, but seem to have lost it before modern life 
is reached. 

There is still another relation, that of similarity. The 
reforms of Solon in Greece and of the Gracchi in Rome, the 
causes of Wat Tyler's Rebellion, the measures of Lloyd- 
George to-day in England, and the social justice idea of 
the Progressive Platform in the presidential campaign of 
19 1 2 bear striking resemblance to each other. While 
they cannot be connected by progressive evolution, they 
are highly suggestive in the lessons they teach. The 
Committee on Social Studies insists such similarities 
should be brought out, for in them the student will not 
only find his chief source of interest, but will feel the 
practical value of the subject he studies. 

Likewise, many events whose continuity we may not be 
able to trace have valuable lessons growing out of their 
dissirnilarity. By making note of their contrasts we 
may see their bearing on modern life. The terrible 
Thirty Years' War, the Puritan Revolution, The Revolu- 
tion of 1688, the American Revolution, and finally, the 
French Revolution, present such striking contrasts with 
each other as to give the student some notion of what 
might have been avoided for the betterment of the 
people. This means when one of these upheavals is 
studied the rest should be made to yield up their particular 
points of contrast, to the end that the student may see 
the lesson or lessons they present. 

What the Final Report Will Probably Be 

Trying to Save Boys and Girls to the High School. 

The Committee of Five took a great step forward when 
it suggested a modification of the high school course in 



284 History in the High School 

history so as to permit emphasis on modern history. 
This contribution of the committee to the newer view of 
history was most significant. But the Committee on 
Social Studies proposes to go further and cause the 
modern idea to permeate every part of history — to give 
every event or institution studied the modern touch. 
Many of the facts of the present reach far back into the 
past through a long line of evolution. How they came 
to be what they are, constitutes a real problem. This 
method of attack is taken for the primary purpose of 
trying to save boys and girls for the high school. It is 
believed that this new view of history will go a long way 
toward arousing and sustaining their interest in the 
problems that will one day confront them. They certainly 
cannot help but feel that history thus taught will be far 
more practical than formerly. 

The Committee's Recommendation. The changes 
made in history, under the pressure of this ideal, are 
radical. The student's motive for attacking history is 
that he has run against something in his everyday life 
that challenges him to an investigation; he does not 
understand it. He may solve his problem and get his 
answer by tracing the idea from its beginnings in ancient 
times or in nearer-by history, to its embodiment in modern 
institutions. This view puts a new test upon the facts 
of history. Tried by this standard, some events assume 
a new significance. Others lose their meaning, or have 
a greatly reduced one. The committee, therefore, 
substantially makes the following recommendation (1913) : 
1. European History to 1600 or 1700, including American 
Colonial History. 2. European History since 1600 or 
1700, including contemporary civilization. 3. United 
States History since 1700, including current events. 4. 
Economics and Civics, each half a year. 



Improving the History Course 285 

It must be apparent that the course in history recom- 
mended by the Committee of Seven is gone, and that 
the course suggested above is, in its solution of events 
and in the distribution of its emphasis, a very different 
course indeed. The old terminology will not fit the new 
situation. The new terms seem to designate history more 
as a unit. Whoever admits the necessity of making an 
effort to reach the boys and girls who leave school pre- 
maturely will have to admit that the plan suggested by 
this committee is the most sensible one for the purpose 
yet proposed. 

Practical Suggestions 

the first year 

The Difficulty in the Way. The principles involved in 
high school history teaching were sufficiently emphasized 
in the early part of this work. Here are a few more sug- 
gestions of a practical nature: The grammar school 
pupil just entering the high school is only three months 
removed from leading strings of the eighth grade. He is 
not yet a full fledged student. There has not been much 
gain in maturity in those three months. In fact, until the 
mental rust of vacation has been rubbed off, he will think 
but little better than in the latter part of the eighth year. 
It is hardly wise, therefore, to immerse him at once in a 
cold bath of strange things usually found in the text-book 
on ancient history. 

A far better way is to spend a few days in making a 
survey of the conditions of present day ideas and institu- 
tions. The purpose of this is to set before the students 
the problems they are to solve. Take the family, as one 
of five fundamental institutions, with the social ideas 
clustering around it. What are the leading character- 
istics of an American family? Have these marks always 



286 History in the High School 

belonged to it? Where did they come from? What 
relations do husband and wife sustain to each other? 
Was there ever a time when these relations were different? 
How have they come about? How long have men and 
women been entering into marriage? How many ways 
of getting married? Was there ever another way? 
What influences help to hinder marriage ? These questions 
are designed to arouse the students' curiosity as to the past 
out of which the family has come. Similarly each of the 
other institutions and their corresponding ideas ought 
to arouse their desire to know. If these questions do not 
so stir them, this review is a failure. 

When we turn to the past, care should be taken not to 
load students with proper names culled from Egypt, 
Babylonia, Assyria, and so on. The same warning will 
apply to Greece, Rome and the middle ages, although in 
a less degree. The same is true of places and things. 
Their content is strange. The students have had but 
little experience on which they can draw, to construct 
pictures of these things. On their ability to make 
accurate pictures hangs the accuracy of their judgments. 
If nothing be said to them by the teacher, and if they 
catch no suggestion from the sketches in their text, they 
are just as likely to picture the Macedonian phalanx in 
open formation, with repeating rifles in hand, as to picture 
it in solid formation with only great lances for weapons, 
or, if not corrected they will, in imagination, dress a dig- 
nified Roman senator in a business suit instead of in a 
toga. 

From his lack of apperceptive matter the teacher must 
select a text for his use that is not only light and easy 
but one with an abundance of word-pictures in it. In 
addition, this text should be richly illustrated to supply 
the dearth of apperceptive matter. Blue prints of every 



Improving the History Course 287 

sort of ancient, medieval and modern object should be 
used. If the museum of antiquities, or even of modem 
times, be nearby, frequent journeys to see "historical 
things" should be indulged in. Books of travel are to 
be used, in addition to works of supplementary reading. 
With all that both teacher and text may do, the student 
will fall short of picturing scenes correctly. Hence, the 
teacher must not expect too much in the way of con- 
clusions drawn from picture work; and what other sort 
of conclusions are permanent? Any other kind even if 
given by the text, are a sort of statistics. 

The Teacher's Problem. The work proposed by the 
Committee on Social Studies is far easier, because more 
interesting, for the student than is the traditional course. 
But for the teacher the work at present is far more difficult. 
The teacher's problem concerns itself with the selection 
of material, and, whether in the field of ancient, medieval 
or modern history it is a difficult task to select those 
topics which connect with the present day world. The 
difficulty lies in the fact that not all institutions or events 
move down in orderly succession to the present. Some 
come part way, others, from one cause or another, lose 
their identity; many have their continuity so broken that 
they are hard to follow, and some are lost sight of by text- 
book makers. This obstacle will be partly removed as 
authors and publishers get in line with the newer con- 
ception of history. 

Ample Freedom Permitted. It is not the purpose of 
the Committee on Social Studies, judged by their report, 
to lay down hard and fast lines in the limits set to the 
different periods, or in the selection and emphasis given 
to subject-matter. The committee seems to be concerned 
about one thing only, namely, that each event, fact, or 
idea shall be given its modern interpretation. Otherwise, 



288 History in the High School 

the teacher is left free to indulge likes and dislikes 
arising out of the fact that some are better prepared to 
deal with old ideas while others find attraction in institu- 
tions of a later date. Each must be permitted to do his 
own work, consistent with the great purpose outlined 
in the newer history. 



The Student's Problem. With the opening of the 
second year's work, the student is capable of greater 
emphasis on the reflective side of the work. Besides, the 
conceptions are not so strange, and the newer aspect of 
history attracts him as he approaches the present. He 
hears in his own home, perhaps, conversations over the 
beginning of the English Church and Puritan offshoots 
that were and are represented by Congregationalists and 
Presbyterians, and the migration of the latter to America. 
Or perhaps he may have read about Frederick the Great, 
the First Napoleon, or Wellington and may have already 
made the comparison with Washington, Grant, or Lee. 
The shrewd teacher will welcome this knowledge, and stir 
others to similar activity. 

Continental and English History. The report of the 
Committee on Social Studies designates European history 
since 1760 as the second year's work. European history 
naturally falls into Continental and English history. For 
the sake of unity of treatment the latter may be selected. 
Continental history must deal with several nations and, 
therefore, present several different lines of study instead 
of one. "We may follow England to the Continent when 
her interests carry her there and may return when con- 
tinental history, as a cause, connects with English 
history. It seems as reasonable to select English history 
as Continental, for the point of departure. 



Improving the History Course 28Q 

The Relation between English and American History. 

It must not be assumed that Continental history has 
no value to one whose chief concern is the mastery of 
American institutions. Much of European history is 
vitally connected with our own. The French Revolution 
was promoted by our own Jefferson, and our relations 
with France at that time were such that Washington's 
proclamation probably saved us from being embroiled. 
The Monroe Doctrine itself had its roots in European 
conditions growing out of the Napoleonic Wars. One 
of the biggest problems which the Wilson administration 
faced was the Panama tolls question, which concerns 
the commerce of all Europe. Since the United States 
became a "World Power" her international obligations 
have widened. Future history will probably deal more 
and more with European relations. 

Notwithstanding these facts, one purpose of this 
second year's work is so to study English history that 
the student will have a better understanding of American 
institutions. English institutions were planted in the 
thirteen colonies, with the exception of New York, but 
when the English got hold of New Netherland she, 
too, gradually took on English political ideas. Social 
and industrial institutions in New York remained Dutch 
for a much longer time. For one hundred seventy-five 
years England governed the American colonies. Rela- 
tions with England constituted an interesting problem 
down to the publication of the Monroe Doctrine. 

THE THIRD YEAR 

The Point of View. In the work heretofore done, 
the modern end of the problems was often found in 
American history. But in the present study the greater 
number of problems lies wholly in American history. For 



2Q0 History in the High School 

this reason, we may call this year's study American 
History Proper. But we must not forget that still many 
American problems have their origin in European history. 
The tendency toward the Continental Sunday came from 
Europe, and the spirit of intolerance common to colonial 
days was an English inheritance. 

The student is better prepared than ever before for 
reflective work. He is intellectually stronger and has 
accumulated an abundance of experience upon which 
he may draw in the interpretation of American history. 
The work should be easier, but more interesting, because 
his mental plow runs deeper. The problems are attacked 
at shorter range, compared with the work of other years. 
Student and teacher, both, can follow out more easily the 
continuous development of ideas and institutions. 

The General Problems of American History. The 
problems of American history are the problems of the 
growth and development of American institutions. 
There are five fundamental institutions. Some authors 
have proceeded on the assumption that there is but one, — 
government, — or at least have given the others but scant 
treatment. This is an erroneous method. It rests on 
the assumption that the purpose of history is to make 
politicians, instead of citizens. 

When the colonies were founded the religious and 
industrial motives were uppermost in the minds of the 
settlers. This struggle gave temporary ascendancy to 
the problems of government, — politics. Long after the 
Revolution the questions of national import drew the 
attention of men, because of the spectacular in them. 
But during this time the other institutions were function- 
ing, and now historians are recognizing that fact. The 
texts of the better class are bringing out these less obtru- 
sive, but just as important, facts. 



Improving the History Course 2QI 

From 1816 to 1850 the people were giving active 
attention to each of the institutions. But from this 
time to 1865 politics seemed to have the upper hand. 
The real cause, however, was due to the conflict growing 
out of social and economical differences between the 
North and the South. Even the Reconstruction Period 
was not all political, and very few will contend that since 
that time American history has concerned itself with 
politics. How absurd seems the contention that "history 
is past politics." 

THE FOURTH YEAR 

Economics the First Half Year. According to the 
plan of the Committee on Social Studies the first half of 
the year shall be devoted to the study of Economics. It 
is not the object here to proceed in a formal, logical way 
to develop this subject by definition, but rather to connect 
it, in a simple, non-technical manner, with the study of 
industrial history. Pushing back far enough in school 
experience, we come to the common field out of which 
arise the beginnings of history, economics, and civics. 
All along the way a line of study should be carried on, inci- 
dentally, it may be, till the high school is reached, which 
covers the simpler problems of community life. Such 
a study ties the student's interest to his own environ- 
ment and at the same time prepares him for more 
efficient work in history, economics and civics. 

When he reaches economics proper, in the fourth year 
of the high school, he moves right on with emphasis upon 
one phase of this institutional study — the industrial. His 
study now is still non-technical in the main, and has to 
do with the problems of production and consumption. 
These subjects are concrete and the places where produc- 
tion goes on should be visited by the students. 



2Q2 History in the High School 

Civics in Last Half Year. Civics in the last year touches 
the student at his best, but it is not the intention of the 
Committee on Social Studies that a formal study shall be 
pursued — starting with a definition of government and 
the constitution. In fact, Civics, in a broad sense, is 
more than the study of government. It is the study 
of all common interests of the community. A community 
has interests in state and national affairs as in the more 
special affairs of the locality where the studying is done. 

When the government, the church, the school, the 
industrial organization, or the family performs functions 
whose operations the student can see, and the individual 
renders service for one or many of these, which comes 
under the observation of the student, he has a fine field 
for the studying of the only civics that can be of much 
service to him. If he has worked in harmony with the 
spirit of the Committee on Social Studies, and, in fact, 
worked in unison with the constant teaching of this 
text, he has been rising to a higher and wider view of 
history, economics, and civics — from his earliest experi- 
ence with the sensuous side of community life — till he 
finds this field beginning to differentiate into separately 
organized subjects. 



THE INDEX 

Abolitionists, 45, 199, 206. 

Adams, John, 140, 141, 144, 149, 160, 163-165, 169. 

Adams, John Quincy, 62, 151, 152, 159, 161, 181, 182. 

Alaska, purchase of, 209. 

Alien and Sedition Laws, 142, 143. 

America, Central, expedition against, 192; doctrine of "Manifest 

Destiny" and, 210. 
American Anti-slavery Society, 182. 
American Historical Association, reports of committees of, 279- 

281, 285. 
American History, 278, 280; fundamental divisions of, 56, 57; 

general problems of, 290, 291 ; great names in, 241 ; institutions 

of Indian not part of, 78; organization of phases of, 75-212; 

picture side of, 254; relation between English and, 289; between 

European and, 249, 289, 290; in the third year of high school, 

289-291. 
American Party, 190. 
American Revolution, see Revolution. 
Analytic Process in the study of history, 57, 58. 
Ancient History, 279, 280, 282, 283, 285, 286. 
Annapolis Convention, 121. 
Annexation, of Texas, 181; of Hawaii, 209. 

Anniversaries, patriotic, as material for picture-making, 228-230. 
Antietam (Sharpsburg), battle of, 201, 204. 
Anti-Saloon League, 211. 
Anti -Slavery Party, see Liberty Party. 
Anti-Slavery Sentiment, 182; see also Abolition, Emancipation, 

Garrison, Negro Slavery, etc. 
"Appeal to the People of South Carolina," 179. 
Appomattox, Lee's surrender at, 205, 207. 

Army, Confederate, 200; United States, 156; see also names of wars. 
Articles of Confederation, see Confederation. 
Assumption Bill, see Funding and Assumption Bills. 
Atlanta, Sherman's Campaign against, 205. 
Aurora, the, 141. 

Authorities, value of historical, 47, 54. 
Bachelors and Spinsters, 212. 
Balance of Power, 148, 149, 174, 176. 
Bancroft, George, 171. 

Bank, United States, 41-43, 137, 155, 157, 166-168. 
Banks, state, 168. 
Baptist Church, 183. 
Barnburners, 184. 

293 



2Q4 The Index 

Battles and Campaigns, interpretation of, in; place in history, 

109, no. 
Bell, John, 194. 
Bible History, 218. 
Biography, see Historical Person. 
Boone, Daniel, 68, 247 ; story of as illustrating problem of oral story, 

247. 
Boston, massacre, 103; port bill, 103; siege of, 107; tea party, 100, 

103, 106, 109. 
Boston Tea Party, as illustrating story of the event, 257-261. 
Brace method of history teaching, 57. 
Bragg, General Braxton, 200, 201, 204, 205. 
Breckinridge, John C, 194. 
Brown, John, raid of, 193. 
Bryan, William Jennings, 210. 
Bryant, William Cullen, 161, 171. 
Buell, General Don Carlos, 201, 204. 
Bull Run (Manassas Junction), battles of, 201. 
Bunker Hill, battle of, 107, 226. 
Burke, Edmund, 106. 
Burr's Conspiracy, 148. 
Butler, General Benjamin F., 199. 
Calhoun, John C, 40, 155, 157, 158, I77-I79, 184-186. 
California, 183, 188, 189; Asiatics in, 210; discovery of gold in, 185, 

186. 
Campaign of 1828, 163-165; of 1840, 169-171. 
Campaign of 1840, The, a word-picture, 270, 271. 
Campaign Songs, 170. 

Campaigns, public interest in political, 162. 
Canal (Erie), The, a word-picture, 269, 270. 
Capital of the United States, establishment of, 136. 
Capital and Labor, war between, 211. 
Cass, General Lewis, 185. 
Causes and effects in history, 14, 32-41. 
Causes in history, positive and negative, 34; fundamental and 

particular, 35-39; transformation into purposes and means, 

39-41- 

Central America, expedition against, 192; and doctrine of "Manifest 
Destiny," 210. 

Centralization of Rights and Opportunities in the South, 86-93; 
conclusion from study of, 91, 92; economical aspects of, 88, 89; 
general causes of the movement, 87, 88; how principle governed 
attitude of Southern colonists toward English authority, 92, 
93; how principle worked in politics and religion, 90, 91 ; nature 
of an organizing idea, 86, 87 ; social and educational effects of, 
89, 90. 

Character, formation of noble primary aim of teaching, 228. 

Characters, of history and myth, and the picture-making phase of 
history, 231, 232, 240-244; in the written story, 248. 

Charleston Convention, meaning of, 193-195. 



The Index 295 

Chase, Salmon P., 187, 206. 

Chatham, Lord, 106, 109. 

Chattanooga, battle of, 205. 

Chickamauga, battle of, 205. 

Child, and the sense phase of history, 215. 

Chronology, see Time. 

Church, 215, 219, 220, 291; Baptist, 183; center for religious ideas, 

18; and denationalization, 183; and French and Indian War, 21 ; 

Methodist, 183. 
Cincinnati, Society of the, 106, 120. 
Circular Letter, Massachusetts, 106. 
Citizens, good, purpose of all teaching to make, 282. 
Civics, study of local, 222; the teaching of, 284, 290, 291. 
"Civil Rights" Bill, 208. 
Civil War, campaigns of, 204-206; causes of, 38-40, 71, 179; events 

of, from the Proclamation of Emancipation to the close, 206- 

207; and the purchase of Louisiana, 149; and state sovereignty, 

32, 38, 40, 127. 
Clark, George Rogers, 68. 
Clay, Henry, 40, 64, 155, 157, 164, 168, 170, 171, 176, 179, 183, 186, 

187. 
Clergy, southern, and slavery, 175. 
Cleveland, Grover, 209, 211. 
Climate, influence in history, 71, 76. 
Clubs for Boys, 212. 
Colonial History, American, 284. 
Colonies, growth of Union in, 114. 

Columbus, first voyage of, importance in American history, 77. 
Columbus Day, celebration of, 229. 

Commerce, 35~37, "4. H5> 120, 121, 140, 148, 152, 173, 174. 
Commission Form of Government, 210. 
Committee of Five, report of, 280, 281, 283. 
Committee of Seven, report of, 278, 279, 284. 
Committee on Social Studies, origin of, 281; object of, 281, 282; 

recommendations of, 284, 285; report of, 281-288, 291, 292; 

what final report of, will probably be, 283, 284. 
Committee of Thirty-three, resolutions of, 197. 
Committees of Correspondence, 102. 
Common Sense, Paine's, 107. 
"Compact" Theory of the Constitution, 178. 
Comparison in history study, 53, 54, see also Synthesis. 
Compromise of 1850, 186-188. 
Concentration and Expansion, 53. 
Confederacy, Southern, 40, 198, 200, 205-207, 209. 
Confederation, 32 34, 100; Articles of, 37, 106, 112, 114-115, 120, 

121, 125, 129; causes of decline of, 35-37; sovereignty of the 

states and Articles of, 11 5-1 18. 
Congress, Continental, 15, 35, 37, 102, 103, 112, 114, 151; Stamp 

Act, 41, 42, 100, 103-106; United States, 120, 176, 199, 200, 210. 
Conscription Law, 156. 



2q6 The Index 

"Consent of the Governed," governments based on, 107. 

Consolidation and Expansion, period of, 209-212. 

Consolidation in National Affairs, 56. 

Constitution, efforts of Colonists to secure rights under British, 102. 

Constitution of the United States, 16, 18, 34, 41, ico, 121, 125- 
129, 131, 133, 134, 136, 137, 142, 146, 147, 156, 160, 164, 174, 
175, 178, 181, 191, 192, 195, 211, 291; amendments to, 207-209. 

Constitutional Union Party, 194. 

Content of History, continuity and differentiation in, 16, 17; form 
and, n-14, 73; growth of history due to differences and conflict 
in, 14, 15, and interpretation of, 26, 27; resemblance in, as the 
basis of organization of history, 122. 

Continental Army, formation of, a word-picture, 276. 

Continental Congress, see Congress. 

Continental History, 288, 289. 

Continentalist, the, 120. 

Continuity and Differentiation in History, 15-18, 20. 

"Contraband of War," slaves as, 199. 

Convention, Annapolis, 121; Charleston, 193-195; constitutional, 
41, 106, 115, 119, 127, 176; Hartford, 32, 156; Nashville, 188. 

Conventions, constitutional, 41, 115, 127; nominating, 167, 168; 
state, 122, 127. 

Cooper, James Fenimore, 161, 171. 

Coordination in History Study, basis of, 65 ; confers power to properly 
judge contemporaneous events, 74; educational value of, 72- 
74; effect as to knowledge, 73, 74; nature of, 65-72; period of 
growth of local institutions and, 81; and subordination, 27, 73; 
theoretical and practical need of, 65-67 ; see also Selection. 

Corinth, battle of, 201. 

Correspondence Causes, 212. 

Cotton, 177, 198, 201. 

Cotton Gin, invention of, 177. 

Crittenden Compromise, 197. 

Cuba, coveted by the South, 192; and American protection, 209. 

Culture Influences of the school, 18. 

Cumberland Road, 158, 159. 

Dates, 70, 71. 

Daughters of Liberty, society of, 29, 102. 

Debt, national, 156, 157. 

Declaration of Independence, 106, 108, 109, 112, 113; causes of , 113; 
the foundation of American institutions, 113; and the period 
of development of nationality, 128, 129; as related to Union on 
the basis of rights of man, 102, 107-109, 112-114, 125; as result 
of the Revolution, 126, 127. 

Declaration of Rights, as related to Union against England, 102, 
104, 105, 125. 

Democracy, 191; its efforts at redress, 150-153; and foreign aggres- 
sions, 150-153; and foreign relations, 137-141; fusion of, with 
nationality working out its results, 162-172, 197; Jacksonian, 
164, 166; Jeffersonian, 159; mutual approach of nationality 



The Index 2QJ 

and, 146-162; origin of struggle between nationality and, in 
domestic questions, 133-137; struggle between nationality and, 
I 3 I_ i73; triumph of, 143-146; the War (of 18 12) as a factor in 
nationalizing democracy, 1 56-161. 

Democratic Party, 33, 159, 160, 169, 176, 185, 190, 192, 202, 209. 

Democratic Societies, 139. 

Democrats, 65, 170, 181, 184-186, 188-193, 200, 206; Peace Demo- 
crats, 207; War Democrats, 195. 

Denationalization, the church and, 183. 

DeSoto, Ferdinand, 68; expedition of, as related to growth of insti- 
tutions, 77. 

Diagram Method of Teaching History, 57, 58. 

Differences and Conflicts in Content, growth of history due to, 14, 15. 

Differentiation, 27; influence in growth of institutions, 18-20; 
Laws of Continuity and, 15-17; and public opinion, 19; in 
relation to institutional life, 55; in religious thought, 83. 

Diffusion of Rights and Privileges, 81-86. 

Direct Taxation, and slavery, 173. 

Discipline, teaching for, 227, 261. 

Discoveries and Explorations, as non- American history, 78; not a 
coordinate phase of institutional life, 75; relation to period of 
growth of local institutions, 75-78; true connection and rank, 

75-78. 
Discoveries and Inventions, 210, 211. 
Discovery of Gold in California, how it aided in sectionalizing the 

nation, 185-186. 
District of Columbia, established, 182; slavery in, 200. 
Division in history study, an analytic process, 57, 58; basis for, 

55» 56; growth of institutional life should be basis for, 55-57; 

means to interpretation and disintegration, 27, 57; is opposite 

of Integration, 57; uses of, 54-57; see also Differentiation. 
Divisions, fundamental, in American history, 56, 57; geographical, 

56; see also Division and Differentiation. 
Divorces, 212. 
Domestic Questions, struggle between nationality and democracy 

originates over, 133-137. 
Donelson, Fort, taken by Grant, 201. 
Douglas, Stephen A., 189, 191-195. 
Drake, Joseph Rodman, 161. 
Dred Scott Decision, 190, 191. 
Economics in High School, 284, 290, 291. 
Education, 211; in the South, 212; as effected by centralization of 

rights and opportunities, 89, 90; in history, 17-18. 
Educational Value of Interpretation, 50-65. 
Effects, 33, 38-46; acts and ideas as, 14; causes and, 38-44; danger 

of reading purposes into, 44, 45; purpose and means, 39-46. 
Eight Hour Day, 211. 
Elections, and nationality, 131, 132. 
Electoral College, 165. 
Elements of History, 9-24. 

20 



.„- - tammm 



2q8 The Index . 

Emancipation, 175, 198-201; 204-206; significance of proclamation 
of, 202-204. 

Embargo Act, 151, 152, 153, 155, 156, 158. 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 172. 

Emigrant Aid Society, 189. 

Emotional Results of Historical Interpretation, 59-61. 

Emphasis, selection and, 67-69. 

Ends, 39, 42-46, in; immediate and remote, 43-46; see also Effects 
and Purpose. 

England, and the Civil War, 201, 202. 

English Explorations, importance of, in American history, 77. 

English History, 279, 288; relation between, and American History, 
289. 

Englishmen, Rights of, 44, 105, 106, 108, no, 123. 

Environment, pupil's mastery of, 250, 282. 

Epoch, see Period. 

Era of Good Feeling, 159; significance of, 161, 162. 

Era of National Pride, 171, 172. 

Erroneous View of History, n. 

Established Order in Society, power of, 19. 

Ethical Value of Interpretation, 61-63. 

European-American History, sixth grade, 249-253, nature and 
purpose, 249, 250. 

European History, 249-253, 279, 280, 287, 289, 290. 

Event, created for particular end, 42; form of, n, 41 ; nature of, 253, 
254; purpose of is true cause, 41 ; story of the, 240, 241, 253-277. 

Events, as active forces, 35; as causes and effects, 14; as factor pro- 
ducing changes, 28; and historical judgment, 58, 59; institu- 
tional life and, 28 ^interpretation of, 27-32, 255; the language 
of history, 28; means to solution of problem of history, 13; as 
molding public opinion, 28; nature of, 13, 14, 214, 216, 224, 
225, 229, 231; organization of military, 109-112; organization 
of political, 112, 113; the outer form of history, 13; as physical 
fact in history, 13; as product of preceding movement, 28; 
sign of ideas and feelings, 28, 65; and time, 70-72; story of the 
' real historical person and, 253. 

Excise, 136, 137, 145, 156. 

"Expansion," 209. 

Explorations, Discoveries and, see Discoveries and Explorations. 

Exponential Method of Teaching History, 57. 

"Exposition," 178, 179. 

Express Companies, and the Parcel Post, 211. 

Extension, University, 212. 

Fact, every historical, both cause and effect, 33, 34. 

Factors Which Unite to Produce Historical Knowledge, 9. 

Facts, and events, 31 ; integration and unification of, 50; as material 
of history, 9; as material presented for interpretation, 25, 36, 
46-48, 214; mental, 12, 13; necessity of showing relations 
between, 31, 35~38. 

Fairy Stories, 231, 232. 



The Index 2gg 

Fall of Andros, a word-picture, 261, 262. 

Families, relationship between, 218, 219. 

Family, 212, 215, 217, 218, 285, 286, 291; center for social customs, 
18; effects of slavery on, 22, 88, 89; Puritan family in New 
England, 84. 

Federalism, 171; see also Federal Party. 

Federalists, 152, 154, 158-161, 169, 178; defeat of, 144; rapid 
development of anti-democratic sentiment among, 141-143. 

First Continental Congress, The (1774), a word-picture, 263. 

First Representative Assembly in America, The (161 9), a word- 
picture, 261. 

Flag Day, celebration of, 230. 

Florida, Purchase of, 74. 

Folklore, 231, 232. 

Foreign Aggressions, 1803-1812, 149, 150-153. 

Foreign Relations, and conflict between nationality and democracy, 

I37-I4L 
Form and Content of History, 11-14, 73. 
Forms and Ceremonies, 145, 146. 
Fountain of Youth, 76, 77. 
France, and the Civil War, 201, 202. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 66. 
Free Soil Party, 184, 185, 190; platform, 176, 194; principles, 191; 

vote, 188. 
Free Tolls, 211. 

Fremont, John C, 190, 199, 206. 
French and Indian War, effects of on institutions, 2 1 ; and religious 

toleration, 16, 21. 
"French Party," 141. 
Fugitive Slave Law, 188. 
Fulton and the Steamboat, 159. 
Fundamental Divisions in American History, 56, 57. 
Fundamental Institutions in History, 17-19. 

Funding and Assumption Bills, 135, 136, results of conflict over, 136. 
Fusion of Nationality and Democracy, 162-172; in the campaign 

of 1840, 169-171; significance of Jackson's election, 163-165. 
Gallatin, Albert, 157. 
Garrison, William Lloyd, 182. 
Gates, General Horatio, 62. 
Genet, "Citizen," 139. 
Genius of Universal Emancipation, 182. 
Geographical Division, 56. 

Geography, in history, 33, 70; local, 217; sense, 215. 
Gettysburg, battle of, 12, 13, 204, 205. 
Gettysburg, battle of, significance of, 12, 13. 
Gold, effect of discovery in California, 185, 186. 
Government, center of political ideas, 17, 18; genesis of local, 80; 

growth of, as illustrating continuity and differentiation, 15, 16; 

and growth in political thought, 18; growth of representative, 

15, 16; as an institution, 18, 20, 21, 218, 278, 289-291 ; in middle 



joo The Index 

colonies, 94; national, 42, 43, 1 19-122; in New England, 82- 
86; and slavery, 22, 23; in southern colonies, 90-93; union of 
the states by means of the, general, 1 13-127. 

Government, study of, 279, 280. 

"Government for White Men," 203. 

Grant, Ulysses S., 201, 204, 205, 207. 

Growth, of institutional life, 26, 53, 55; custom and, 18; of institu- 
tions, 18-20, 56, 71, 75-95. 

Growth of History, 14, 15-17, 18, 19, 119, due to differences and 
conflicts in content, 14, 15; laws of continuity and differentia- 
tion in, 15-17. 

Growth of Union, 96-127; division into organic parts, 101 ; organiza- 
tion of period as a whole, 99, 100; phases of, 101; result of 
proper study of, 124, 125; and the Revolution, 102, 106, 124; 
and the Stamp Act Congress, 104. 

Grundy, Felix, 155. 

Halleck, General Henry W., 161. 

Hamilton, Alexander, measures of, 134-138, 140, 144, 149, 157. 

Harper's Ferry, 201. 

Harrison, William Henry, 169, 170. 

Hartford Convention, 156; recommendations of, 32. 

Hawaii, annexation of, 209. 

Hayne, Robert Y., 178. 

Hegel, Morris', and the Higher Aim, 45, 46. 

Henry, Fort, taken by Grant, 201. 

Henry, Patrick, 104, 106; student's judgment of, 64, 241. 

Herald, New York, 172. 

Hero, The Real, 237-241. 

Hero Study, ethical value of, 241-244; great ethical qualities in, 
244; how to preserve a balance in, 243, 244; nature of the prob- 
lem, 242, 243; pioneer stories and, 241, 242, 247. 

Higher Aim in History, The, 45, 46. 

"Higher Law," Seward's, 187. 

High School, History in, 279-292; First year, 285-288; second year, 
288, 289; third year, 289-291; fourth year, 291, 292; report of 
Committee of Five, 280, 281 ; of Committee of Seven, 279, 280, 
285; of Committee on Social Studies, 281-288, 291, 292; trying 
to save boys and girls to, 283-285. 

"Historical Emphasis," 69. 

Historical Person, the story of the real, 232, 233, 237-242, 253; 
outline of names, 237-240; in relation to events, 253. 

"Historical Perspective," 69, 84. 

History Teaching, elementary phases of, 213-223. 

Holiday Season — Christmas and New Year's, celebration of, 229. 

Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 171. 

Hood, General John B., 205. 

House- Divided- Against-Itself Speech, 191, 193. 

Houston, Sam, 180. 

Idea, life history of, 17, 23, 24, 282, 284. 

Ideas, 17, 19, 28, 46, 65, 224, 225; see also Thought and Feeling. 



The Index joi 

Ideas of Form and Content in History , 1 1 . 

Imagination, 214-217, 224-226, 229, 231, 232, 237, 242, 248, 250, 
253-256, 275- 

Immigration, 172, 174, 197. 

Implied Powers, doctrine of, 43, 160. 

Income Tax, 211. 

Independence, 107, 108, see also Declaration of Independence. 

Independence Day, celebration of, 230. 

Independent Treasury, 169; bill, 171. 

Indian, North American, institutions of, not a part of American 
history, 78. 

Indians, 158. 

Indian Story, The, 235-237. 

Industrial, consequences of French and Indian War, 21; differences 
and conflicts, 15; effects of Revolution, 126; effects of slavery, 
22, 23; institutions, 18, 20, 71; life, 18; motives, 290; organiza- 
tion, 291; phase, 17; questions, 210, 211. 

Industries, effect of Embargo on, 153. 

Institutional Life, 28, 33, 55; contrasts between North and South, 
71; discoveries and explorations in relation to, 75-79; 
growth of, 26, 51, 53, 55, 70; test of historical value, 68-70; 
and growth of union, 108; interpretation of phases of, 27, 32; 
local, 221; and nationality, 129, 130; organic unity of, 20-24; 
and period of growth of local institutions, 80; revolutions and 
evolution in, 34; slavery and, 22, 23; see also Institutions. 

Institutions, 15, 17-24, 113, 212, 216, 217, 221-223, 284-292; 
centers of life, 18; conservatism and growth in, 19; Declaration 
of Independence foundation of American, 113; Indian not a 
part of American industrial, 18, 20, 71, 78; in middle colonies, 
93-95; in New England, 8 1-86; period of growth of local, 75-95, 
228; present day institutions and the teaching of history, 282; 
in primitive history, 18; in southern colonies, 22, 23, 86-93; 
see also Institutional Life. 

Integration, 27, 50-58; division and, 57; simplifies historical knowl- 
edge through comparison, 54; a synthetic process, 53, 54; and 
unification, 50, 51. 

Interest in History, how stimulated, 60, 61. 

Internal Improvements, 148, 158, 159. 

Internal Revenue Tax, 202. 

Interpretation, content and, 27, 261; definition of, 27; division and, 
2 7, 575 develops historical judgment, 57-59; of discovery and 
exploration, 76; educational value of, 50-65 ; emotional results of, 
59-61; ethical value of, 61-63, 228; of events, 27-32, 255; 
forms of thought and sentiment as discovered in, 32-46; material 
presented for, 25, 36, 46-49, 214; nature and kinds, 27-32; of 
past in relation to present movements, 31, 32; of phases of 
institutional life, 27, 32; process of interpretation in organizing 
history, 27-65; and the text-book, 256. 

Inter-State Commerce Commission, 211. 

Inventions, 172. 



302 The Index 

Irving, Washington, 161, 171. 

Jackson, Andrew, 163-17 1, 1 78-181; proclamation of, 179; rule of, 
165-169; significance of his election, 163-165. 

Jackson, Celebration in honor of, a word-picture, 277. 

Jamestown, Founding of, as illustrating interpretation of events, 
29; importance of original material regarding, 49. 

Jay, John, 140. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 137, 141-146, 149-151, 154, 155. 158, 164, 170, 
175. 176, 178, 210; student's judgment of, 62. 

Jeffersonian Doctrine, 196. 

Johnson, Andrew, 200. 

Johnston, General Joseph E., 205. 

Judgment, events and, 58, 59; guidance of 62, 63; need of in selec- 
tion, 66, 67; interpretation and historical, 57-59; in relation 
to present movements, 74, 221 ; relation between picture-making 
and, 224-226, 237, 238, 248, 250, 255, 260, 261. 

Judiciary, national, 143, 145, 190, 191. 

Kansas, struggle in, 189, 191. 

Kansas- Nebraska Bill, 188, 192. 

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, 32, 142, 143, 153, 156, 178. 

Knights of the Golden Circle, 202. 

Know Nothing Party, 190. 

Labor Day, celebration of, 229. 

LaFayette, Jean Paul, 62. 

Landing of the Pilgrims, importance of grasping significance of, 1 1, 12. 

Lee, General Charles, 62. 

Lee, General Robert E., 200, 201, 205, 208. 

Legend, 231, 232. 

Lexington, battle of, 73, 100, 103, 106, no- 112; interpretation of, 
110-112; and mechanical whole, 51; problem in study of, no, 
in; true cause of, no. 

Liberator, the, 182. 

Liberty Party, 183. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 23, 34, 170, 185, 191, 192, 194, 199-201, 206, 207. 

Lincoln- Douglas Debates, 191, 192, 194, 272. 

Lincoln- Douglas Debates and Their Effect, the, a word-picture, 272. 

Lincoln's Birthday, celebration of, 220, 230. 

Literature, American, 160, 161, 171, 172; history and, 231, 232. 

Local Government, see Government. 

Local Institutions, in middle colonies, 93-95; in New England, 81- 
86; origin and development of, organizing idea of period of 
exploration, 80; period of growth of, 75-79; in southern colonies, 
86-93. 

Logical Method in history study, 10; 213, 278. 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 171. 

Lookout Mountain, battle of, 205. 

Louisiana, purchase of, 74, 147-149, 180. 

Lundy, Benjamin, 182. 

Madison, James, 155, 157, 158. 

Maine, admission of, and slavery, 176. 



The Index joj 

Making of New Towns; Increase in Size of Farms, The, a word- 
picture, 274, 275. 

"Manifest Destiny," Doctrine of, 184, 210. 

Map, use of, 71, 72. 

Marriage, 212, 286. 

Marshall, John, 143, 160. 

Massachusetts Circular Letter, 106. 

Material, original, 47-49; for picture-making, 228-277; presented 
for interpretation, 25, 36, 46-49, 214; processes involved in 
organizing historical, 27-74; second-hand, 46, 47; selection 
of, 287; for the story of the event, 256-277. 

McClellan, General George B., 201, 202, 207. 

Meade, General George G., 204, 205. 

Medieval and Modern European History, 279, 280. 

Memorial Day, observance of, 230. 

Memory, 11, 36, 224. 

Method, brace, 57; diagram, 57, 58; exponential, 57; logical, 10, 
213, 278; outline, 57, 58; psychological, 10 213; topical 57. 

Methodist Church, 183. 

Mexican War. motives and results of, 183-186. 

Mexico, expeditions against, 192; and the doctrine of "Manifest 
Destiny," 210; and the Texan Revolution, 180; war with, 
183-185. 

Middle Colonies, attitude of, toward English Authority, 94; internal 
institutional growth, 93-95. 

Military Events, viewed as means, 42, in ; organization of, iocj-112. 

Militia, 156. 

Mind, and facts, 50, 51; immature, 213-217, 227; and mechanical 
whole, 52; and methods, 10; and the picture-making phase of 
history, 224, 226, 233, 242, 254; the transforming agent, 9; 
see also Facts. 

Minimum Rate of Wages, 211. 

Minute Men, no. 

Missionary Ridge, battle of, 205. 

Mission Work in Cities, 211. 

Missouri, admission of, and slavery, 40, 174-176, 181, 185, 186. 

Missouri Compromise, 174, 189, 190. 

Missouri Struggle, meaning of, 175, 176. 

Modern Idea in History, 284. 

Money, 168. 

Monroe, James, 161. 

Monroe Doctrine, 172, 209, 210, 289. 

Moral Lessons, from historical biography, 241, 242, 244, 246. 

Moral Survey Committees, 212. 

Motives, see Purposes. 

Movements, see Progress and Institutions. 

Myth, Legend, Folklore, 231, 232. 

Names, 171, 172; great names in American history, 62-65, 237-241; 
outline of, 237-240. 

Napoleon, 150, 151. 



304 The Index 

Napoleonic Wars, 174, 289. 

Nashville Convention, 188. 

"National Aid to Education," 209. 

National and State Holidays, 228-230; outline of the days, 229, 230. 

National Bank, see Bank, United States. 

National Banking System, 206. 

National Education Association, report of committee of, 281-288, 

291, 292. 
National Government, see Government. 
National Road, 148, 159. 
National and State Holidays, celebration of, 227-230; the outline 

of the days, 229, 230. 
Nationality, 118, 121; and democracy, struggle between, 131-172, 

197; development of spirit of, 56; fusion of , and democracy 

working out its results, 162-172; institutional life and, 129, 

130; mutual approach of and democracy, 146-162- period of 

the development of, 128, 208; revival of, in the North, 198, 199; 

sentiment of, 32; and slavery, 173-208. 
Nationality and Slavery, struggle between, 1820-1870, 173-208. 
National Sentiment, unconscious progress of, 1 31-133. 
National Spirit, 53. 
Naturalization Law, 142, 145. 
Natural Rights, 106. 
Naval militia, 151. 
Navy, American, 155, 156. 
Nebraska, 189; see also Kansas-Nebraska Bill. 
Negro, 175; emancipation of, 202, 203; see also Emancipation, 

Slavery, etc. 
"Negro emigration to the North," 203. 
"Negro equality," 203. 

Negro Rule in the South, a word-picture, 273, 274. 
Neutrality, Proclamation of, during French Revolution, 138, 139. 
New England, growth of local institutions in, 81-86; principle 

governing conduct of, toward English authority, 84-86, 91. 
New Mexico, 188. 
New Orleans, battle of, 201. 
Newspapers, rise of, 172. 
Night School, 212. 
Niles' Weekly Register, 161. 
Non-American History, 78. 
Non-importation Act, 151. 
Non-importation Societies, interpretation of formation of, 29-31; 

original material concerning, 49, and tax on tea, 44. 
Non-importation and Non-exportation Societies, 44, 102. 
Non-intercourse Act, 153. 
North American Review, 161. 

Nullification, 32, 40, 176, 178, 179, 181, 186, 188, 191. 
Obligations of Contracts, 160. 
Observation Work in History, material for, 217-221; nature of, 214- 

223; purpose, 215-217. 



The Index 305 

Occupation, 84, 215, 219. 

"October States," 195. 

Ohio, 185. 

Oral and the Written Story, The; 246-249; the general problem of, 
246. 

Oral Story, 246-247; advantages of, 246, 247; the problem of, 247. 

Ordinance of 1787, 185, 207. 

Organic Historical Whole, 52, 53. 

Organization, of events of Revolution, 109; facts and, 26, 27; 
fundamental processes in, 27; of historical material, 25-74; a 
mental, not a mechanical, process, 26; of military events, 109- 
112; of the period of development of nationality, 128-212; 
of the period of growth of local institutions, 75-95; of the 
period of growth of Union, 95-127; of political events, 112, 113; 
processes and material of, 25-74, 1 19-122. 

Organization, party, 172. 

Organizing Idea, 81, 102, 103, 108, 112; of the second half of the 
Revolution, 11 3-1 15; at work, 80, 81. 

Organizing Principle of History, 26; in the concrete, 82-84. 

Ostend "Manifesto," 192. 

Outline Method of Teaching History, 57, 58. 

Paine, Thomas, and national government, 107, 119, 120. 

Palo Alto, battle of, 183. 

Panama Canal, 209. 

Parcel Post, 211. 

Parents and Children, relationship between, 218. 

Parties, 14, 18, 39, 40, 181 ; and slavery, 23; see also names of political 
parties. 

Patriotic Anniversaries, as material for picture-making, 228-230. 

Patriotism, study of history basis of, 61, 221. 

Paulding, James Kirke, 161. 

Paul Jones and His Great Sea Fight (1779), a word-picture, 265, 266. 

Peace of the world, 210. 

Peace Convention before Civil War, 197. 

Peninsular Campaign, 202. 

Percival, James Gates, 161. 

Period, 78, 79, 80, 81, 94; see names of periods of American history. 

Periods, Historical, 53, 69. 

Person, story of, 240, 241. 

Petition, struggle for right of, 40, 182. 

Phases, see Institutions and Institutional Life. 

Philippines, annexation of, 209. 

Philosophy, 218 

Physical and Picturable Facts in History, 13. 

Physical Conditions, as influencing institutional life, 71, 76, 79. 

Pickett's Charge, a word-picture, 273, 276. 

Picture Making, Material for, 228-277; European-American history, 
sixth grade, 249-253; for the first three or four years — patriotic 
anniversaries, 228-230; hero study, 241-244; the Indian Story, 
235-237; myth, legend, folklore, 231, 232; the oral and the 



306 The Index 

written story, 246-249; the real hero, 237-241; the story of 
the event, 253-261; the transitional story, 232-235; word- 
pictures to illustrate the story of the event taken from Mace's 
School History, 261-277. 

Picture-making Phase of History, 216, 217, 224-277; ethical purpose 
of, 227, 228; general problem of, its nature and immediate 
purpose, 224, 225; material for picture-making, 228-277; 
relation between picture-making and the judgment, 224-226, 
237, 238, 248, 250, 255, 260; remote purpose of, 226, 227. 

Pictures of Events, 254, 255. 

Pilgrim Stories, 233. 

Pilgrims, see Landing of the Pilgrims. 

Pioneer Stories, 241, 242, 247. 

Pitt, William, see Chatham. 

Play, 245, 246. 

Playgrounds, 212. 

Polar Expedition, 172. 

Political events, organization of, 112, 113; ideas, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23; 
independence, 21; observation, 220; parties, 18; phase, 17, 20; 
see also Government, Politics, Slavery, names of parties, etc. 

Political Ideas, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23; effects of French and Indian War, 
21; of slavery, 23. 

Political-industrial Phase, 20. 

Political Science, 218. 

Politics, 19, 22, 23, 290, 291; effects of slavery on, 22, 23; history 
not confined to, 19; how principle of centralization of rights 
and opportunities worked in, 90, 91. 

Ponce de Leon, 76, 77. 

Poor Whites, 22, 88, 89. 

Popular Sovereignty, 191, 194. 

Population, movement of, 174. 

Porto Rico, transferred to the United States, 209. 

Presbyterians, 183. 

Present Day Problems, 210-212. 

Primaries, state, 210; presidential, 210. 

Problem of History, 13; character of, 9, 10; in content, 13. 

Process, historical, 33 ; means must be viewed as taking part in, 42, 43. 

Processes, coordination and subordination and, 27, 65-74; involved in 
organizing historical material, 27-74; interpretation and, 27-65. 

Progress, and causes, 34; and institutions, 18, 19; and public senti- 
ment, 34. 

Prohibition, national, 211. 

Property, protection of, by law, 219. 

Protection, 158, 177, 178; see also Tariff. 

Protestant church, 211. 

Psychological Method in Teaching History, 10, 213. 

Public Opinion, 19, 28, no, 172; see also Public Sentiment. 

Public Sentiment, 14, 18, 19, 57, 64, 65, 83, 115-121, 123, 138, 139, 
I 5 I_I 53> l6o » l66 » J 68, 176, 186, 201; abolished slavery, 18; 
and causes, 34; and events, 14, 28-31, 33; as preserved in 



The Index 307 

records, 47-49; progress and, 34; in relation to union against 
England, 102, 104, 109; and revolution, 115. 

Quakers, and slavery, 175. 

Railroad, 159; rates, 21 1 ; strike, 209. 

Rebellion, Shay's, 106. 

Recall, 210. 

Reconstruction Period, 209, 290. 

"Record" Idea of History, II. 

Records, as original material, 47-49; use of, 47-49; value of, 47-49. 

Reference Works, importance of, 46, 47, 54. 

Referendum, 210. 

Reflective or Logical Phase of History, 255. 

Reforms, and Interpretation, 31 = 

Rejoicing Over the Victory (1788), a word-picture, 267, 268. 

Representation, and slavery, 173, 174. 

Representative Government, growth of, as illustrating continuity 
and 'differentiation, 15, 16; and the Revolution, 15. 

Republican Party, 153, 154, 184, 189-191, 206. 

Republicans, 144, 152, 154, 158, 159, 161, 178, 191, 194, 197, 208; 
see also Republican Party. 

Results, 34-36, 226; see also Effects. 

Revolution, American, 12, 65, 71, 73, 101, 108-112, 122; battles 
and campaigns of, 109, no; effects of, on institutions, 21, 22, 
126; events leading up to, 100; interpretation of, 30, 31; organi- 
zation of events of, 109; organizing idea of the second half of, 
113-115; compared with period of growth of nationality, 128; 
period of, as related to growth of Union, 102, 106, 124; and 
representative government, 15; results of, 125-127. 

Revolution, French, 31, 138, 139, 173; relation of, to American 
history, 289. 

Revolutions, causes of, 34. 

Richmond, McClellan's campaign against, 201. 

Right of Petition, 40, 182. 

Rights, Declaration of, as related to union against England, 102, 
104, 105. 

Rights and Privileges, diffusion of, in New England, 81-86; see also 
Centralizing of Rights and Opportunities. 

Rights of Englishmen, 44, 105, 106, 108, no, 116, 123. 

Rights, of Man, 139; the Constitution and, 126, 127; the Declaration 
of Independence and, 112, 113; organization of political events 
and, 112; in relation to growth of Union, 106-110; natural, 106. 

Roads, see Cumberland and National. 

Rochester Speech by Seward, 192, 193. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, and present day problems, 210. 

Rosecrans, General William S., 204, 205. 

Russia, and the Civil War, 202. 

San Jacinto, battle of, 180. 

Santa Anna, 180. 

School, 291; center for educational and culture influences, 18; and 
French and Indian War, 21; and growth of educational ideas, 



jo8 The Index 

18, 19; New England public, 83, 84; and slavery, 22, 89, 90; in 
southern colonies, 22, 89, 90; study of, 219. 

Scott, General Winfield, 170, 183. 

Secession, 32, 40, 176, 181, 188, 199; significance of, 196, 197. 

Secondary Education, Commission on Reorganization of, 280. 

Sectionalization, growth of, 180-197; symptoms of the triumphs of, 
!9 2 » 193; the process already begun, 180-183; see also Mexican 
War, Kansas- Nebraska Bill, Dred-Scott Decision, Lincoln- 
Douglas Debates, etc. 

Sedition Laws, Alien and, 142, 143. 

Selection, application of, 70-72 ; basis for, 68-70 ; and emphasis, 67- 
69; fundamental, 67; principle of, and judgment, 66, 67; results 
of the application of, 72; principle stated, 67, 68; see also 
Coordination. 

Semi-Historical Stories, 232-235. 

Sense Phase of History, 213-223; the general problem, logical and 
psychological method, 213, 214; how the problem changes, 213, 
214; nature of observation work in history, 214-223. 

Sensuous side of history, 224, 225, 229 ; see also Sense Phase of History. 

Seventh and Eighth Grades, and the Picture- Making Phase of 
History, 253-255; the story of the event in, 253-277. 

Seward, William H., 187, 192, 193, 209. 

Shay's Rebellion, 106, 121. 

Sherman, Roger; process of organizing period, 122, 123. 

Sherman, General William T., 205. 

Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), battle of, 201. 

Similarity and Dissimilarity in historical events, 283. 

Sixth Grade, and the Picture- Making Phase of History, 249-253. 

Slave, in the Civil War, 199, 200. 

Slaveholder, 175. 

Slavery, and centralization of rights and opportunities, 87-89; 
and the Bible, 175; and the Civil War, 38, 40; and commerce, 
173, 174; and the Constitutional Convention, 173, 174; destruc- 
tion of, and the triumph of the Nation, 197-208; development 
of conflict over, 173-180; digging it up by the roots, 207, 208; 
direct taxation and, 173; effects of, on family, 18; and foreign 
intervention, 203; government and, 22, 23; how the question 
forced its way to the front, 199-202; and institutional life, 22, 
23, 87, 90, 172, 173; and the Louisiana Purchase, 149; nationality 
and, 173-208; nullifies the tariff, 176-179; and poor whites, 22, 
88, 89; public sentiment abolished, 18; and the Quakers, 175; 
representation and, 173, 174; results of, 45; and the Revolution, 
126; significance of its appeal to arms, 197,198; social effects of, 22, 
23, southern clergy and, 175; see also Emancipation, Negro, etc. 

Slave-trade, 175, 193. 

Smith, Captain John, writings of, 49. 

Smuggling, 152. 

Social, customs, 18; differences and conflicts, 15; effects of centraliza- 
tion of rights and opportunities on, 89, 90; forces, 212; life, 218; 
phase, 17, 20. 



The Index 30Q 

Social Studies, report of Committee on, see Committee on Social Studies. 

Society of the Cincinnati, formation of, 106, 120. 

Sons of Liberty, Society of, 29, 203. 

South Carolina, 176, 178, 179, 185. 

"South Carolina Exposition," 178. 

South Carolinian, 181. 

Southern Colonies, attitude of, toward English authority, 92, 93; 

centralization of rights and opportunities in, 86-93; institutional 

life in, 22, 23, 86-93; schools in, 22, 89, 90; slavery in, 22, 23, 

87-90; see also Slavery. 
Spain, war with, 209; treaty with, 209. 
Speculation during Jackson's administration, 168. 
Sprague, Charles, 161. 
Springfield Speech of Lincoln, 192, 193. 
Stamp Act, 29, 45, 103, 105, 156; Congress, 41, 42, 100, 103-106; 

and formation of non-importation societies, 31, riots, 109. 
"Staple States," 178. 

State Constitutions, and religious freedom, 16. 
State Sovereignty, 32, 35, 37, 38, 40, 49, 115-118, 119, 134, 142, 

143, 156, 164, 178, 196; see also States 1 Rights. 
States, admission of, and slavery, 174, 175. 
States' Rights, 118, 127. 
Steamboats, 159. 
Stephens, Alexander H., 186. 

Stony Point, historical value of battle of, 73, ill. 
Story, 172; of the event, 240, 241, 253-277; Indian, 235-237; the 

oral and the written, 246-249; semi-historical, 232-235; tran- 
sitional, 232-235. 
Story of the Event, 240, 241, 253-277; illustration and method of 

work, 257-261; material for, 256-277; objects of, 254, 255; 

story of the person before, 240, 241 ; word-pictures to illustrate, 

taken from Mace's School History, 261-277. 
Story of the Person, before the story of the event. 240, 241 ; ethical 

value of hero study, 241-244. 
Story Side of History, 225. 
Story Teller, the teacher as, 244-246. 
Subordination, 27, 73. 
Suffrage, 172, 208; woman, 210. 
Sumter, Fort, 198, 199. 
Sun, New York, 172. 
Sunday School, 215, 220. 
Supreme Court, 160, 167, 190, 191, 192. 
Synthesis, 53, 54, 57, 82. 
Tariff, 134, 135, 155, 158, 176-179, 182, 186, 202, 211; slavery 

nullifies, 176-179. 
Tax on Tea, 103. 
Taylor, Zachary, 185. 
Tea, party, Boston, 100, 103, 106; tax, immediate and remote ends 

of, 44, 103. 
Teacher, as story teller, 244-246. 



310 The Index 

Technical Training, 211. 

Texan Revolution, 180. 

Texas, 1 81-183, 186; annexation of, 181; meaning of the movement 
for, 179, 180. 

Text-books, 46, 48, 66, 67, 109, in, 217, 256, 259, 260, 275-278, 
285-287, 289. 

Thanksgiving Day, celebration of, 229. 

Thomas, General George H., 205. 

Thought and Feeling, as cause and effect, 14; conscious and uncon- 
scious, 41; disparity of, between North and South, 40; and 
events, 65, 214, 215, 218, 219, 225, 226, 231-233; forms of, as 
discovered in interpretation, 30-46; growth of institutional, 53; 
and historical judgment, 58, 59; the inner essence of history, 
13; as pictural facts of history, 13; and the picture-making phase 
of history, 254, 256, 259; in relation to battles and campaigns 
of the Revolution, 109, in; in relation to Union, 101; and the 
story of the event, 254. 

Thought and Sentiment, see Thought and Feeling. 

Thoughts and Emotions, see Thought and Feeling. 

Time, 51, 52; place in history, 70, 71; relatively unimportant, 51, 
55, 56, 70, 72. 

Tippecanoe, and the Harrison Campaign, 170. 

Toleration in Religion, effects of French and Indian War on, 16, 21 ; 
effects of Revolution on, 16; as illustrating continuity and 
differentiation, 16; in New England, 83. 

Toombs, Robert, 186. 

Topical Method, 57. 

Transitional Story, The, 232-235. 

Transitions, 96. 

Trent Affair, 201. 

Tribune, New York, 172. 

Truth, love of, from study of history, 61 ; subjective and objective, 54. 

Tyler, John, 180. 

Unification, Integration and, 50, 51. 

Union, 186, 187; against England, 101-113, 116; on the basis of 
rights of Englishmen, 102-106; on the basis of rights of man, 
106-109; on the basis of sovereignty of the nation, 118, 119; 
on the basis of sovereignty of the states, 11 5-1 18; and cause 
and effect, 34, 102; fidelity to, 29; growth of, 96-127; preserva- 
tion of, 40, 176; spirit of, and the Revolution, 126; and the 
Stamp Act Congress, 103-106; of the states by means of the 
general government, 1 13-127; transmission from isolation to, 
96, 97. 

Union Against England, 101-113; organizes events from 1760 to 
1783 into a series, 101-102; see also Union. 

"Union" Meetings, 188. 

United States History, 284; see also American History. 

Universities, 211, 2*12. 

Utah, 188. 

Van Buren, Martin, 165, 169, 170, 180, 184. 



The Index 311 

Verbal Memory, 11. 

Vicksburg, campaign around and siege of, 204, 205. 

Victories on the Sea; The "Constitution" Captures the "Guerriere," 
a word-picture, 268, 269. 

Victory at Trenton, The (1776), a word-picture, 264, 265. 

Victory over Cervera's Fleet, a word-picture, 277. 

Virginia, Settlement of, a word-picture, 276. 

War, 13, 14; causes of, 34; Civil, causes of, 38-40, 71, 179; French 
and Indian, effects of, on institutions, 2 1 ; Revolution, effects 
of, on institutions, 21, 22; see also names of wars. 

War for the Union, see Civil War. 

War of 1 8 12; causes of, 150, as a factor in nationalizing democracy, 
1 56-1 61; opposition to, 156; as a product of the national spirit, 
153-156. 

"War Power," 207. 

War With Mexico, 183-186. 

War With Spain, 209. 

Washington, George, 62, 64, 120, 121, 129, 138-140, 175, 210; 
administration of, and contest between nationality and democ- 
racy, 133-137; inauguration of, and spirit of nationality, 

132, 133- 
Washington Bids His Comrades Farewell, a word-picture, 266. 
Washington Resigns and Retires to Mount Vernon, a word-picture, 

266, 267. 
Washington's Birthday, celebration of, 230. 
Wealth, diffusion of, 172. 
Webster, Daniel, 40, 166, 170, 178, 186, 187; student's judgment 

of, 62. 
Webster, Noah, 120. 

Webster-Hayne Debate (1830), 40, 178; a word-picture, 271, 272. 
Webster's Dictionary, 172. 
Western lands, cession of, 106, 120. 
Western Movement, 158, 159. 
Western States, 148, 154. 
When the Great Ship Came to the Planter's Door, a word-picture, 

263. 
Whig, convention, 170; party, 65, 169, 170, 181, 183, 190; statesmen, 

171. 
Whiskey Rebellion, 137, 139. 
White House, 170. 
Whittier, John Greenleaf, 171. 

Whole, organic historical, 52, 53; space-, 52; time-, 51, 52. 
Wilmot Proviso, 184-186, 207. 
Wilson, Woodrow, administration of, 210, 211; and present day 

problems, 210. 
Word-Pictures, 275-278, 286. 
"World Power," 288. 
Writs of Assistance, 100, 103, 106. 
Written Story, The, advantages of, 248, 249; compared with oral 

story, 246, 247; problems of, 248. 



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